When was the last time you began something new? For me, as a teacher, the season of fall brings a new school year and a chance to start fresh in many ways.  The old year falls away like the leaves on the trees, and I begin again… For others, perhaps, this is simply a day like any other, the predictable and mundane continuing from one day to the next. Some of you may be very confident in where you are at in your life and your career. For me, I feel like each new day is a tiny step in the right direction.  We all experience new beginnings at some point in our lives. Trust in your own journey. Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.

Beginning
By Krista Longeway

You start a journey of your own
Your face turned towards the bright sun
Each day you take a few steps more
Then you rest when the day is done

You walk over hill and valley
In times of sun and times of rain
Striving towards that distant peak
Though you may struggle and feel pain

But in the end you will stand tall
Upon that distant mountaintop
Looking down upon the valleys
So you push on and never stop

Today you start this long journey
Where others have traveled before
You should not compare your progress
Though they may seem to have done more

Your own journey may start slowly
And your first steps may seem little
But don’t compare your beginning
To someone else’s middle