This is me...

So allow me to introduce myself...
          My name is Joely A. Serino.  I inserted the A. because well, I thought it looked official and professional when I was about a freshman in high school.  I decided back then that that was who I was going to be, official and professional. And despite some challenges and roadblocks that have caused me to hit the pause button and have rerouted some of my professional goals, I haven't changed that vision for myself.  And the A. just stuck.
          As a kid, as far back as I can remember, I was a perfectionist in everything I did.  If I did the wrong page for homework, my world came crashing down and panic ensued.  If my softball team lost a game, the tears streamed down my face, and the ugly cry showed the disappointment I felt for myself.  I pushed and pushed and pushed myself and didn't stop until I reached my goals.  I got into an advanced college preparatory high school because of my grades, kicked some major academic ass throughout my high school career, and went to the college of my choice.  Everything was looking up.  I went to college as a double major: Secondary Education/History with a Focus in Law.  I was doing it, and I did it! I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a job as a Middle School History teacher in the town I grew up in; the plan was happening.  And then the chaos began.
          It was my second year teaching, a normal night out for a friend's birthday.  I had a few drinks, nothing out of the ordinary.  I wasn't feeling well, and the vomiting started. I had experienced these little episodes before, and they scared me, but tonight seemed far worse than ever before.  The knife twisted in my belly button, and the vomiting was relentless.  It just wouldn't stop.  The next morning my boyfriend brought me to the Emergency Room.  And that was the start of the next eight months of terror; the next eight months of trying to convince doctors that no, I wasn't crazy, and no, it's not all in my head.  I was diagnosed from everything to Endometriosis, to Bulimia, to Gallbladder Stones, to Intestinal blockages.  Eight months and to no avail, I was still vomiting.  The hospital in New Jersey gave up on me and told me to leave; they couldn't help me any longer.  My boyfriend and my parents then brought me to a hospital in New York City, where I met two doctors who said, "Don't worry. We're going to help you.  You will get better here."  Eight more months, four surgeries, still vomiting. I thought I was going to die.  Finally, after receiving testing at a third hospital, my doctors in New York said, "We think it's Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Let's try some medications." And it worked! One little magic pill every night, and my life instantly changed.
          I went back to teaching; thankfully my job was still there waiting for me in the wings.  I was my "go get'em" self again.  I was setting goals for myself and persevering.  I was not going to let this illness

control me.  I got married to the man who helped me get through all of those months in the hospital; the man who didn't give up on me.  I got my life back, and I learned so much about it through that harrowing experience.  I learned that life is too precious to just focus on professional goals.  As cliche as it sounds, you have to stop and look around at everything and everyone that surrounds you.  While setting goals and focusing on them with our one track minds, we don't realize how amazing our lives and the people in them really are.  I learned that if you need help, you need to ask for it.  You can't do everything by yourself, and if you think you can, you will surely end up killing yourself in the process.  And finally, I learned that you need to love yourself and take care of you.  If you can't take care of yourself and love you, you can't take care of anyone else. It took a near death experience and a 16 month hospital stay to learn what seem like simple lessons.
          Today I am doing well.  Do I have bad days? Of course! Don't we all? My health is a fine balance, and I'm discovering new ways to control my stress and take care of myself, like Guided Meditation and journaling.  I'm teaching 7th grade English Language Arts, and I'm setting new goals for myself and dipping my toes into several projects.  I opened a Teacher Pay Teacher store, I'm training to become Google Certified, I'm consulting for Learning Ally, I'm writing curriculum and doing professional development for my school district, and most importantly, I'm having fun!  I am also working on my writing, not just using this new blog, but working on getting a children's book published.  I feel like the stars are aligning, and it's finally my time.
          This blog will serve as a place for me to work on my writing, primarily about Education, the lessons that can be seen inside of my classroom, and the books that I'm reading.  But it will also be a place of reflection and to exhibit my most recent work.  I hope you enjoy the most inner workings of what makes me, me.