First Day Jitters

By Kim Paniagua

And just like that...it was July. The end of the school year came fast and left me feeling like I had been hit by a speeding bus. Swiftly followed by summer work days and a tech-ed conference in Chicago. After landing at 6pm on Wednesday, the institute awaited me the very next morning. Missing the first 3 days of a NWP summer institute is like missing a month. So much happens. Bonds are formed. Beautiful writing has filled countless pages already, people have their own nerdy, inside jokes. So when I walked into our new space, filled with new people, and embraced my new role as “staff,” I was nervous to say the least. I was the proverbial new kid in school and I just hoped people would let me sit with them at the lunch table.

What always strikes me about the institute is how familial it feels. Here we are. 15 or so teachers, writers, thinkers. Spanning across all ages, teaching backgrounds and cultures. Sharing ourselves, our practices and our writing. All working toward the same goal: to learn. About ourselves, each other and our students. By the end of Thursday, as the hot rain settled in and around the empty campus, I had a feeling that I was right where I was supposed to be.