2024 Reflection

Another year, another MANDATORY reflection.

At the beginning of the year I was continuing to enjoy marriage, most notably reaching the 1-year anniversary milestone of marriage. As Katherine and I got more comfortable in our life together, we began going to various open houses, and even going so far as to put multiple offers into various townhouses all over Orange County. Though we were mostly outbid (or had to back out at the last minute due to terribly low reserves in a townhouse in Garden Grove), the quest remains to find a new townhouse for our ever-growing family. Speaking of which, we recently discovered in the latter half of the year that we will become parents, with a child to add to our growing roster by 2025. And so with the preparation well underway, we are excited that our first child will be a boy. Hopefully he doesn’t grow up to be too athletic and will enjoy the taste of Phil’s BBQ at his birthday parties in the coming years.

I continue to be forever shaped by the people that have inspired me over the many years. This includes friends, and co-workers from past to present. Though I’ve lost contact with many people over the years as they started expanding their families, I hope I can still harness the power of friendship to get me through the toughest and most challenging times of parenthood. May my friendships continue to evolve as my life evolves from Charmander into Charmeleon in the coming year.

This year I finished out the 23-24 school year in special education. Though the experience was meaningful in its own way, (and I truly appreciate special education teachers for all the paperwork and meetings they have to endure), I truly missed the teaching aspects of being in general education. And so when the opportunity presented itself a month into the 24-25 school year, I was able to transition back into teaching history (and unfortunately a little bit of science, but hopefully that will be only temporary). My favorite part of teaching continues to be harnessing the power of relationships with students. Though I can’t win them all over, the power of letters from Santa Claus, Pokemon cards, and end-of-the-year letters continue to make the experience meaningful for all students. The Lead Program for an administrative services credential has been somewhat meaningful, but I still have no intention on using that credential anytime in the future.

And with 2025 on the horizon, I know my life will ultimately change forever come May of next year. I hope to cherish my final experiences of adulthood before the baby comes. Being a parent will mean of course being selfless and doing everything for my child. In the end, I hope Katherine and I can continue to love one another, and even go on weekly dates even after the child invades our life. Likewise, even if I unintentionally lose friends along the way (mostly due to time constraints), or my teaching suffers a bit (Oh well, I have tenure now)… it’ll be worth it, just to make sure my future boy is happy, safe, and I can maximize his unlimited potential for success in the future. I have nobody else to blame if my child turns out rotten like some of my students, so I hope to do everything within my power to teach him how to be a good person in this world we live in.

There’ll be plenty of updates along the way, as project parenthood starts next year after the birth. After all, that child will have to continue this blog after I’m long gone.