Sad Endings and New Beginnings

 The past few weeks have been crazy, crazy, crazy with exams and coursework, rehearsals and concerts, fundraising and organising tour, and of course the tour itself. And in the whirlwind of this I lost sight of the fact I was actually leaving. It only really hit me this week when I had no rehearsals at lunchtime and I could leave school at 3:30pm – wow that felt weird.

 

I will not miss the late nights and the weekends spent working. I will not miss teaching kids that really don’t want to be there and I will also not miss having to yell and nag at the choir to shut up!!! However, I will miss the pupils in the choir; I will miss all of the songs we used to sing. There was a very poignant moment at lunchtime yesterday when we were watching the Germany DVD and they were singing along to a recording of them. I had a sudden and blinding realisation that this was the last time I would get to hear them singing and hear those songs. And I don’t know if they realised it but it was the last time for them too as I have taken all of the music with me since it was mine.

 

Yesterday, apart from one incident, was a fab and sad day. We had a party at lunchtime for the choir and all through the morning they had been coming with gifts and cards for me so that by the end of lunch my desk was packed with them. I got some really lovely and thoughtful gifts and some wonderful cards. I had asked the DT department to make me some key ring fobs, in the shape of a guitar pic with different musical designs on them, as a gift for the students in the choir and I had made them a card. I wanted to also say something to them but I couldn’t as every time I started I got all chocked up. So we just ate and then watched the Germany DVD. They came back to see me at the end of the day and that was really sad – they didn’t want to leave the room and we all ended up in tears. The boys, in true style, were late but as they were walking out they kept shouting back across the yard that they’d miss me etc…that was so nice.

 

So, as I said today is the first day of my ‘new life’, my facebook status reads “I’m Freeeeeeeeee” but my head is also saying “yeah and you’re also unemployed!!!!” which is a little scary. I still do not know where I am going yet, it looks like it is Kenya but it could be Rwanda and I also do not know when, it might be the 12^th July it might be a little later. However, first I have to get my house rented out. So these next two weeks I will be boxing and packing like you can’t imagine.

 

It will be weird not having to get up for school; it will be weird not having to work late into the night every night; it will be weird not singing any more and it will be weird being Jo again rather than Miss Stott or just simply Miss. I am looking forward to the new chapter in my life and I carry with me the memories from my old chapter – both good and bad! There are people I will miss dearly and there are people I am thankful that I will never have to see again.

 

I will update this blog regularly wherever I am in the world, so stay with me. Here’s to a new chapter and new beginnings!