Over the holiday break, I had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends that I don't always have the time to stop and spend meaningful time with. On one of those days, I sat and talked with my mom, and she asked me how work was going. I responded that work is going great, and I am looking forward to going back to see the students. She made a comment that I will probably never forget. It was perhaps just a typical everyday comment of her observations to her. Still, to me, it hit hard and stuck with me every single day after that day. She said, "I love how you love your job. You are one of the few educators I know that looks forward to going back to work and loves what you do." In my head, I thought surely there are other educators out there that love their job. I know A WHOLE LOT of them. But why is this the perception of the outside world? Because, you know, honestly, the perception on social media of teachers that love their jobs is remarkably, very absent in the current time. I open my newsfeeds to find negative comments about going back to work, this student did this, and that parent did that, and all of the reasons their district has failed them, etc. 

  So fast forward a couple of weeks to my first day back to school. It's a professional development day. Our administrator had us watch a TED Talk on retraining the brain and gratitude and keeping a gratitude journal. It hit me sitting in that meeting; we all have super bad days at work, but what you put in your brain is what you get out of your brain. For the last three years, I have had the practice of keeping a reflection journal. At the end of every day, I have an alarm set on my phone to stop and reflect upon my day. I just keep it in a regular notebook, and I write down the following at the end of every day:

• 3 things for which I am thankful that happened today
• 1 experience I would like to do better next time
• 1 person I would like to connect better with the next day
• 
  

  Reflecting upon this experience helped me see why some teachers' love for their job flows out and why it does not show for some. We all have bad days at work, in life, and with people. However, what you continually put in your brain is what you will get out. If you focus on the negative, you will get out negative. If you focus on the positive, you will get positive. However, research shows you can retrain your brain. It's proven! It is possible to change your outlook. Our administrator challenged us to 21 Days of Gratitude; as educators, let's work on retraining our brain to show the world how amazing this teaching profession really is!