I am a Duke.

Last week I blogged about my most frustrating experience teaching college yet. Luckily, tonight I had such a retrieve. I have already blogged about my special grad students this semester. I got hugs from my them tonight before they left our last class. I have also blogged about my special colleagues this semester; I cannot explain the added value they have brought to my career. John, Dani, and Jen-you are invaluable. We ARE going to change the world.

My third year has been amazing so far. Challenging in great ways. It's also nice to know what's going on more than I did in the first two "induction" years. In the first two years, I wondered, was this worth it? Was it worth taking a loss on selling our house (and by that I mean basically giving our house away)? Was it worth leaving our families and friends in NC? Was it worth turning down two other job offers? I couldn't have answered "yes" to this in the first two years.

But now, I can confidently say the answer is yes. But there's no way I could have known that in year 1 or year 2. I can honestly say, I. Am. A. Duke. I bleed purple. No institution is perfect. But JMU's values and opportunities totally jive with who I am as a person.

The JMU motto is "All together one". I believe in this. I want to live this. Our students are amazing. My colleagues are amazing. I literally look forward to going to work every day. I love the balance between research and teaching. I literally have exactly what I wanted. I want to create amazing teachers and generate new knowledge that helps kids. It's the most important thing to me.

Higher Ed is where I belong. I'm doing the job I was BORN to do. Without question. With joy and challenge that are equally rewarding. I. LOVE. MY. JOB. So thankful. Go Dukes! :)