It's Happening

 I got into two different UX boot camps and I chose one that is part-time, in-person and begins in November. The plan is to continue teaching while I train, but that does cause some concerns as I don't typically cope well in the winter months even without the extra burden of a tech boot camp on top of teaching.

So far the year is going well. I still enjoy the people I work with, although more than before I'm seeing social intricacies and complications that I haven't previously. I am friends with people that aren't friends with each other and what I hear from someone about someone else is sometimes conflicting and confusing. I've noticed that I'm quite a social butterfly compared to some and that I have a wide circle of friends at my school from different groups.

There has been drama this year in the department. Not in my close circles-I don't teach 10th grade. 9th ain't a walk in the park, but 10th is where the real drama is. New teachers and old teachers clashing. It's really sad. I can see misunderstanding running rampant. I hear about it from about five different people and then see the tail end of meetings every Friday. It's a tough situation. There are some personalities that clash and professional conduct styles that clash. I'm sure I would feel pressure to be a peacekeeper, so I'm glad I'm not in that PLC.

My PLC groups for 11th and 12th are great. We are the gems of the department in terms of teams. Sharing materials and making plans effectively for the quarter. We work together well and get stuff done in a timely manner. I love it. I will miss these teams and these people. That said, over the summer I spent time away and came to realize that I will get over leaving my tribe of teacher friends. I can move on and be happy somewhere else too. 

I do wonder about working remotely though. Developing relationships online is different than in-person. Many of the positions I could apply for as a UX designer could be remote or hybrid and that could put a damper on my social diet. My husband works remotely and it doesn't hurt at all-helps in fact. He's not overly social and it drains him when he has to be. For me, I think it fills me up to have social interaction (up to a point). 

We shall see. I'm going to do this boot camp, get my Google certificate as well, find a job in the tech sphere and give it a whirl. Damn the torpedoes. It's happening.