My journey... the last semester On the road, as my journey ends and yours begins, I have the awesome opportunity to hear you and learn from what you are doing; I have the important responsibility and the gift to walk with you, next to you, near you, behind you… to encourage, to troubleshoot, to look for joy… As we take this journey together, I have the time to help you reflect and become… to help set the stage and remind you of your why…. I have the gift to work with elementary and middle school student teachers who have spent their lives preparing to take on the amazing role called Teacher. You are my inspiration and it is my hope that during this semester you have many opportunities to develop your craft as a future teacher. I will be here for you along your journey… when you fall, I will help you get up; when you succeed, I will be here to help celebrate; when you question, I will listen. You are ready for this role. It will be challenging and inspiring,and sometimes frustrating and there will be times that you laugh and you cry and you wonder, and you dance with joy. There will be times when you feel like you were born to teach and there will be days when you wonder if this is what is right for you. I hope you will realize that your role as a teacher is so important; that working with young people is one of the greatest joys and sometimes heart-breaking. I am so awed to be walking this part of our journeys with you. Good luck!! Nancy Ruppert, 1/6/2023 I wrote the following song this summer as friends were leaving to move back home to Turkey.