I am sitting here in my Vegas hotel room, and it is quiet! Which is very different from the few days I just had at the Teachers Pay Teachers conference. As you might imagine, when you get 1,100 passionate people into one area, things are anything but quiet. 🙂 In a good way, of course.
From the moment I got here on Wednesday, things were go, go, go; moving from one meet-up to the next, running into new and old faces. Plus, Vegas, in general, can be a pretty overwhelming place.
The conference started on Thursday, and WOW! The energy was high everywhere you went. Presenters were giving tips and tricks for taking your store, blog, or social media to the next level. I thought the first 24 hours were crazy, but this was insane.
Friday was a repeat of Thursday, but with one very important difference. We got to hear from the CEO of Teachers Pay Teachers to start our day. One thing Adam asked us to do, was to look for your “aha” moment. This got me thinking…what is my “aha” moment? Was I going to have one? Did I already have one?
Fast forward through more sessions of great learning and happy hour with friends, and here I sit in my hotel room all alone (well, my husband is actually still snoring in bed, but you get what I mean). It took me until just now to have my “aha” moment.
Events like this don’t happen every day. They are special. But what made this conference meaningful to me was the people. The friendships and connections I made over these few days, old and new, are more valuable to me than words. So my big takeaway is…
Being a person who is truly happy being alone, I learned from these people that life can be a lot more meaningful when you are not. I think this idea relates to all teachers. It is easy to stay in your classroom, close the door, and focus on what you are doing. However, we all become better people, better teachers, and enrich our lives when we open the door and let others in.
Here are some pics of myself and those of us from Upper Elementary Snapshots that were able to go to the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Vegas this year, as well as some old and new friends. I couldn’t share ALL of my pictures because….what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! 🙂
 |
| Making Connections |
 |
| Building new and old friendships |