Seeking Happiness and Joy

I moved to Tooele a year ago July. I graduated from Dixie State College and took a position as a 5th grade teacher at Excelsior Academy, the charter school in Erda. I will be teaching there again this year as a 6th grade teacher. I didn’t know anyone when I moved here. I don’t have any family that lives in the area. I came here alone. In fact, I took my teaching job having never even been to Tooele County. Fortunately, I made some great friends almost immediately and have had so many wonderful experiences this year and have learned so many things about myself. One of the unanticipated byproducts of moving here was the opportunity for me to realize how much control I had on the outcomes and consequences that come with each decision I made. Because of the nature of human interaction, we are interdependently connected, meaning that our decisions not only affect ourselves but also affect those we interact with and who surround us. For example, the decisions my parents