Tip #1: Coworkers or Life Buddies?

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with going to work from 9-5 (because teachers do the whole 9-5 thing, right?), then having zero contact with coworkers from 5 PM-9AM. But, I promise you, you will have a much better time, in and out of school, if you try to make friends with some of your coworkers.

I live the next county over from where I work. I drive 40 miles to school and 40 miles home every. single. day. And luckily, there are some other people that do the same. We're pretty much known as the "Brunswick crew." Those crazy people who would much rather make the 80-mile round trip every day than live in WC. For me, when I moved back to Georgia, I was more interested in Chad being able to find a job easily than me being close to work since he didn't have a reliable car at the time. Plus, being only 10 miles from the beach rather than 50 miles is a pretty good deal. :)

Having said all that, I've found some pretty great people who share my despair over leaving home at 6 AM just to make it to work on time. One of these people was also a first-year special education teacher (first-year in WC, but a 15-year teaching veteran). We shared so many experiences during our first year, both good and bad. We commiserated over the lack of true inclusion classes in our school, and we went to all kinds of professional development together. Because of, or maybe despite, the fact that we shared so many experiences together, we became inseparable. We had administrators, other teachers, and even students ask us if we were sisters. Our principal even told us one day that she thought we'd known each other for years, instead of just meeting each other a few days before the first day of school.

Me and Stephanie at Florida Country Superfest in June, 2014. I don't know what I'd do without her!!

I know that not all first-year teachers will find someone who they click with as easily as I did. Sometimes it is really hard to fit into a school where everyone knows everyone but you know no one. But my advice is to really try. Invite your co-teacher out for a drink after work on Friday. Trust me, she will need it just as bad as you will. Volunteer to help out at the basketball games and chat it up with the computer teacher who always runs concessions by himself. I truly believe that simply putting yourself out there and not waiting for other people to ask you out to lunch is the best way to meet people. And even if they don't become people you go on vacation with, at least you have someone other than your husband or girlfriend (or cat) to talk to outside of school.