Factors within my daily life that offer support are my daughter and boyfriend. My daughter is my biggest support daily. We talk several times a day, even with her living stateside. She has been my motivation for years; now that she is grown she encourages me to continue to be my best. We are a support system for each other. With each new task that arises we inspire each other to do our best to be successful. My boyfriend of many years reminds me of how far I have come over the past few years. He lets me be me, no matter what challenge I take on. He continues to boost my motivation in advancing my education to open my own early childhood facility. I can’t even image what life would be like without either of them. Life would not be complete without either my daughter or boyfriend.
Living abroad my students and colleagues are my adopted family. They offer support where my family is not able to due to the distance between us. My students keep my job interesting, as each day provides a new challenge and new outcome. My students are like my own child, and I set high expectations for them in turn motivating me to stay current will new trends and issues in special education. My student’s parents are willing to assist in and out of school.
A challenge that I would not want to have is the same heart condition that my father and grandmother have had for many years. Living abroad to be diagnosed with this type of condition would be detrimental to me, as my daughter and boyfriend are stateside. This condition would limit my abilities to participate in the activities I enjoy with my students. I would not want to be on medication for the rest of my life or have to be treated in a country that I don’t fully understand the language. My adopted family support is amazing, without them I would be lost.
