Years 3-5--when I decided to stay in teaching

These years were a blur, or maybe it's that now they are so far away in all of my memories. I remember most getting very organized, gaining confidence, setting goals, looking two to three weeks "down the road" as opposed to my first year when I looked one day ahead. Gaining this ability to generate a vision of the what you must do along with how to do 'get there', as I think about this time in my teaching career seems to be "the thing" that I can identify as a "tipping point" to my staying in education. I always said, "I went into education not being sure it would become my career. But, I know I would give it five years, then decide to stay or move on. It seems as though after year one, when I turned around, five years had passed. So, I stayed in education."
Memories of my being able to shape much of what went on in my classroom, on my Varsity team, in my school (remember, there was only one high school at this time and we were it...no wonder I always liked 'small'!), and the fact that I had some control seem to shout as powerful reasons I stayed.
Something else, when I came in to education, my first school in particular, there were so many of "us" that were about the same age, similar backgrounds, and with energy levels that encouraged us to play together (bowling team, softball team, birthday parties, happy hour celebrations) and work together. I remember "liking" the fact that going to work meant I had some meaningful connections with the people there.

What happened in the first year...

Things I remember most: being excited, believing I could make a difference in students, having the luxury of time (now I understand that was because at the time I wasn't as steeped in my content knowledge), doing restroom duty in the restroom, wearing my "badge" which I called my "Piccadilley name tag", grading papers, the mimeogragh machine with the big drum (and the solvent...which for some reason, teachers were very happy to do their own mimeographing :)), buying my own supplies, and finally getting Christmas and end of year gifts from the students.