I think this is what I was meant to do…

I had a really amazing week last week. I taught a lesson on ellis-island and had the students respond to writing prompts in a powerpoint I put together. They were SO into it. It was such an amazing experience. They were all interested and when I collected their responses, I could see that they put thought into their ideas and they werestill  asking about Ellis and Angel Island for the rest of the week. I am getting along really well with my collaborating teacher and the other 5th grade teachers are really helpful and amazing too. Today was a bit overwhelming with our first day of classes because it made me realize how much work I truly do have cut out for me. But I think most of all, I am excited for our amazing cohort because I feel so much closer to all of you! I have that team spirit going on right now…we can do it guys! We rock! Educators of the world unite.

Back to school!

Jamie and I are more alike than I thought- I too am going through a phase of “new” right now. I thought I would try out a new design for the blog. So thursday is our first day of school and tomorrow night is “meet the teacher” from 4:30 to 6:30. I have been in the classroom with Eljse for the last 2 weeks or so arranging desks and numbering an unending amount of math manipulatives. She gave me a really great book that I thought some of you might like to check out. The chapters on classroom management are going to be a lifesaver (although I read the whole thing for good measure). I am not as nervous as I thought I would be but I think that is in part to the fact that I feel so comfortable in our classroom already. And Eljse is the best lead teacher I think I could have asked for. She already knows me so well so she is used to all of my weird OCD quirks (which were popping up like crazy when we were putting up posters today, wow). I hope all of you are having the same great experience that I am so far! I miss you all tons and am actually counting the days until we will get to see each other in the tlc again. Welcome Back!

 

It’s all over?

So I am definitely going through some withdrawls right now. Who would have thought that I would actually miss getting up for class at 8:30 in the morning? Well I do, crazy huh? I don’t think it is the actual classtime that I miss (not that I don’t love a lively discussion about p-value as much as the next girl) I miss hanging out with my cohort. You guys are an amazing group of people and I miss laughing and smiliing with you. It is almost like I don’t know what to do with the rest of my summer even though I feel like I have been praying for this break since the MAT started:-) It’s weird when you get what you have been wishing for, you almost wish you would have gotten something else insted. I guess what I am trying to say is that I will miss each and every one of you and that I hope we will get to see each other again before we start teaching:-)

Painful Times

So I talked a little bit about my mom in Willie’s leadership class today but it is really a hard time for me right now. My mom passed away from a horrible liver disease that took her away from us nearly three years ago. It was harder on me than anyone else because my mom was my everything. She raised my sister and I all on her own (my parents divorced when I was three) and my dad was absent and neglectful of child support and he was abusive when he was around. My mother was a musician and a writer and she encouraged me to go after any and all of my dreams. She never got to finish college and it was always her hope that my sister and I would. It was heartbreaking to graduate this last June without having her there with me to celebrate my achievement. I know it sounds lame but my mom really was one of my best friends. I don’t know how much I actually appreciated that fact while she was still around but it is something I have come to cherish now that she is gone. Everyone tries to tell me that it has been long enough that I should just get over it but it is a really difficult thing to accept that she is no longer in my life. The hardest days of the year for me I think will always be Mother’s Day, her birthday, and the day that she passed away, which just happens to be tomorrow. This is probably the only time of my life that I am truly sad and not really my self at all. I think that this is one of those losses that I will never get over; it is something that I will always carry with me.

The top picture is my mom at her senior prom and the bottom one is my mom and my nana at my high school graduation dinner.

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s Off to Work I Go

So surprise surprise, I am feeling really stressed about the rest of the program. One of the girls at my store (Fashion Bug) just transfered to another store and so now I am working close to 30 hours a week. Yikes. So I am really trying to stay calm about the whole thing and try to avoid a level 3 meltdown. So I definitely apologize to you guys if I am more on edge than usual. But hey, we have a little more than two weeks left right?

Lit Review…Como say what?

So I don’t know if I am the only one who is feeling overly freaked out about the quickly approaching deadline for the lit review…I would assume not. I think everyone is pretty on edge right now because of just that. I just feel directionless. I keep reading article after article but to no avail. I don’t have a single word of my Lit review down on paper and my stack of research is getting larger by the day. I have decided that today after class I am at least going to start my works cited page so I feel somewhat productive. Yikesaby

Inspiration for the days to come

     

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I’ll rise.Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? ‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells Pumping in my living room.Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries.Does my haughtiness offend you? Don’t you take it awful hard ‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines Diggin’ in my own back yard.You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I’ve got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise. Maya Angelou

Weekend Plans…or lack thereof

So I am about to leave campus for the glorious weekend that lies ahead. I surprisingly don’t have to work so I am planning on getting ahead on the work load for next week and I just got a ton of books from the library so I can start pre-researching my topic to try to narrow down my approach to my thesis. One little known thing about me is that I LOVE yard sales. I get up around 7:00 am and scan the classifieds for sales and I will be out all afternoon. So if anyone needs to get ahold of me this weekend, I will be camped out on the front lawns of all the Caldwell townies of our fine city. I’m excited, can’t deny it.

 

My many many families

My dad, me, and my sister as the Miss Teen of Idaho competition this last summer. My sister was giving up her crown.

This is me and all of my sorority sisters in Gamma Phi Beta. They are my rock.

Tessa, Ciara, me, and Courtney. These girls are so amazing and are my closest sisters in Gamma Phi. They came from all over the country to see me graduate.

These are my roomates Rheane and Emma. They are the most amazing women. They keep me grounded and constantly smiling.

Saving the best for last…my hermana Estrella and I. Best friends.

My Life in a Nutshell

So I guess I should say a lil something about my life and who is most important in it. I grew up in a small town in North Idaho called Sandpoint. My dad is African American and my mom was French Canadian. I grew up in an area that was completely devoid of diversity so it was diffifult to find my identity. I have two older half sisters and two nieces and one nephew. I was an aunt when I was 5. Now I am 22 years old and I just graduated from the College of Idaho with my BA in Anthropology/Sociology. I am currently enrolled in the Masters Program for Education and I will be finished with grad school in the summer of 2009. It is going to be a lot of work but it will definitely be worth it in the end.

So, my life changed on July 9,2005 when my mother passed away from a rare but deadly liver disease. Since then, I took a semester off college to go home and take care of my little sister and the house; thankfully I still graduated on time. Since my mother’s death, I have been through a lot of trials and tribulations but the one person who I also look to for support is my little sister Estrella. She is the most amazing sister in the world and more than that, she is my best friend. I am so inspired by her, she has a 4.0 and is a junior in college! Way better GPA than I had…So Estrella is pretty much my life.

Other than that I love to sing- especially music from musicals. My newest obsession is Wicked which I saw in Hollywood. I love love love going to movies too- I could spend hours in the movie theater (and sometimes I do!). I also enjoy reading, right now I am reading the entire collection of Maya Angelou’s autobiographies. Ok, I am tired of typing but that is pretty much me in a nutshell.