As I continue forward with my degree and start my teaching career, something that I wanted to reflect on is my support network. I have so many important people in my life that have support me this far and will continue to support me in the future. I honestly would not be in my current position without them and I have no idea what I would do without a single one of these people.
My dad (who I more commonly refer to as my stepdad or John) is currently my biggest supporter.
He came into my life when I was about 8 years old. Him and my mom had started dating a few months before they had moved in together (which just happened to be my 8th birthday). We didn’t always have the relationship that we do now but now he is now my biggest supporter. He’s been around for about 15/16 years at this point and is honestly a better dad than my biological dad ever was (he also just bought me a car so shout out to that). Thanks for being the dad that stepped up.
My closest friend at this point is Madison.
I met Madison through my mom, they had worked together for about 2 and a half years and we had been pushed together by my mom since we both wanted to go to the States but Madison didn’t want to drive there and I didn’t want to go alone. So my mom made us go together last March and we have been friends ever since. We also worked at the same job for about 4 months (along with my mom) and we completely bonded over how insane that job was.
She is currently one of the people getting every update (aka every thought that I have at a given moment) in my life. And I am so grateful to have her in my life. She has quite literally been through thick and thin with me over the last year and a half.
My aunt (who refuses to have pictures taken of herself) is currently my biggest out of province supporter. My aunt (Jackie) is my mom’s older sister and is the person that I’m closest out of my “extended” family (I only consider about 7 people family at this point, and over half of them live across the country). I haven’t always been as close to her as I am now, but death either pushes family together (like in this case) or pushes them apart.
My aunt absolutely loves the idea of me being a teacher (and wishes her own son was looking at doing something like that), and fully supports it.
There are other people in my extended support network, such as my nonbiological aunt Leanne (who had been my mom’s best friend), or my close friend from elementary school and his fiancé, but without the three people above I would not be here today.
These are the people that I talk to every single day without fail. I call them at least once a week (I don’t call Madison but we send Snapchat videos back and forth every evening, so close enough). They tell me that I’m doing the right thing everyday (even when I made some less then stellar decisions). They help me work through my problems. And each of them is continuously impressed by the fact that I am still in school and not completely broken down every second of everyday (on the outside) (me on the inside is crying like 50% of the time). It is their constant support and understanding that helps me get through each day. And without their support, I would not be able to continue in the program.