Hello Future Me

Congratulations, Jeph! You've made it! Now, I know you're throwing a party, and celebrating like there's no tomorrow, but you only have a couple weeks to get ready for your new job. Time to get cracking!
First things first, you need to remember where you came from! Remember Mr. Paisley, from high school? Remember how, even though he only had a band of like, 30 people, he took them to Festival every year and brought home ones with every single group? Remember how, in elementary school, he taught you ebverything you needed to know to get a start in music? And remember that feeling of playing the spring concert, rocking it, and seeing the crowd loving every minute of it? That's why you're here! He is the reason you went through the last four years to get this degree and this job. Remember that when you get out there, and how much his influence inspired you.
Remember also your core values, the things you hold true to every day of your life. Remember that integrity is important, and that it doesn't matter whether anyone is watching or not, you should always do the right thing, and hopefully your students will follow suit. Honesty is just as important. And you need to feel good about the work you do every day. It may not always be much, but if you can happily hang your name on each day, and be proud of the things you have done, no one can fault you for that.
Instrumental music is a very valuable asset to the public schools and to the curriculum, but most importantly to the students. One of the most important aspects of instrumental music in the schools is that it builds a sense of teamwork within the ensemble, in that each individual member of the ensemble must work together to play a piece of music, to match rhythm and pitch, and dynamics, and mood. Music is also a language, one that is spoken by every culture and group of people all over the world. The sooner that we as educators can get a new universal language to the students, the better. In addition, playing an instrument is a great way to build hand-eye coordination and also is a refreshing way for students to learn a new skill, in a way that is drastically different from the normal classes they take.
In case you only have a couple days to prepare before your first class, remember that the students will get excited about just about anything you present, as long as you are excited about it. The passion you feel for something isn't something you can hide, and the students will sense that, and it can make all the difference in the world. Be passionate, and the rest will fall into place.