Reasons to feel proud of myself

Orange - as seen in Scrapbook Inspirations
Originally uploaded by Scrap_Vamp.

For the longest time after I left university I felt I didn't have very much to be proud about. I didn't really know what I wanted to do - auditioning for drama school proved expensive in itself, let alone what the fees would have been had I actually been accepted, and working in an office left me thoroughly disillusioned.

Then I met Carl and, shortly after, I found scrapbooking. Scrapbooking let me be creative again, and reminded me how much of a practical person I am. Carl encouraged me to do things that I enjoyed, and I found myself teaching drama and singing. He encouraged me to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher, when I finally realised that was what I wanted to do. He was on my case when I lost confidence, as were all my friends from the scrapping community.

Getting established in the school was a struggle in the early stages and, at times, I got quite down. But again, everyone was there to help me along.

In the last six months I feel I have had more to be proud of myself for than ever before. Today the lightbulbs appearing (metaphorically!) above my year 8 students' heads made me beam with pride. Being told that I was making a difference to the form that I took over at Christmas made me feel really good about myself too.

And to cap it all off, I was featured in the sketch challenge in Scrapbook Inspirations this month - my work was actually requested!! You can see the LO above.

Sorry if this post seems self indulgent but those who know me well will tell you just how critical I can be, in fact overly critical of myself. This is me finally being able to say yes, I am doing things right, and I deserve to feel good about myself!