Year one coming to an end...

..and I have to say, I'm not sure it could have gone any better. Now, this is not to say that there were not days where I wanted to scream and wondered to myself, "Why did I think this was going to be a good idea?" but overall, my first year as a teacher has been fantastic.
One of the most rewarding moments being a teacher occurred during the last week of classes. I created a final assignment for my freshman as somewhat of a time filler but also with the hope that they would fully embrace it and do a fantastic job. Now, I don't know how much time you've spent around 14 year olds lately, but this hope of mine was a stretch. Luckily for me, the first pair to present almost brought tears to my eyes...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Here is what the assignment was: I selected pairs (they HATED this and wanted to pick their own partners, but that would defeat the purpose of the project) and had the kids tell each other three stories about anything that had happened in their lives. During those stories their partners were to take notes, ask questions, and learn all they could about their partner. At the end, they had to do a write-up and give a speech to the class about things they learned about their partner.
Now, I purposefully put kids together that I knew did not "hang out" outside of class. The first group was actually two kids who could not stand each other. When they presented they both spoke about how at the beginning of the year they could not stand each other and dreaded working together. They then BOTH expressed how much they enjoyed learning about the other and how they now know that the other is "not that bad". I sat at my desk in the back of the classroom listening to these two speeches and thought to myself, "This, this right here, is one of the reasons why I got into teaching."
Is everyday like this? Does every assignment end in this way? Do I feel like I will be able to reach every student and impact their world? No to all of these things. However, for three days, and two 3 minute speeches, I felt fulfilled as a teacher.
Not exactly sure how important this all is, but I thought it was something nice to share with anyone who reads this. I very much look forward to my second year teaching. There is so much that I will and want to change and improve on. One thing that I will keep, this assignment at the end of the year.