crazy and loving it

I'm deciding to put my life on hold and write. There is something so powerful about sitting on my bed, gazing at the ceiling, and wondering about whatever issues are flooding my thoughts. I find words as a release. In words we can express our emotions-good and bad-, our struggles, triumphs, defeats, mundain stories, laugh provoking tales, etc. This is why I started my blog. I've been writing now for almost 3 months and even though there are many times I wish I had more time to devote to it life is just not always that kind. Between school, my 2 jobs, celebration practices, student teaching, and any time left over for a social life my writing has been shoved on the back burner. Actually, it has been focused more on my school work, particularly my senior writing project.

This project is the first of the developments in my life that I'll hit on. Whe I was brainstorming what to do--research or creative writing--I knew I had to do something that I would enjoy. Over the years I have written many research papers and if it's a good topic that can be enjoyable. There is something so powerful about the ability to explore something that sparks your curiousity and even better gain knowledge to fuel deeper and more meaning critical thinking. I'm writing 7 vignettes to define abstract ideas through concrete descriptions. I'm far too much of a perfectionist though and keep tweaking it. I wonder if I will ever be happy with it. I'm satisfied but to be happy might be asking too much.

Next, work is killer. I keep picking up hours whenever I can because I love working and need money. Crazy how that works out. Also Jump Start, my second job, is beginning to get more involved. It's been a lot of fun planning Freshman Orientation for next year, and I'm hoping/praying everything turns out great. :) I'm trying to save up as much money as I can for when I move into an apartment this summer.

This brings me to my next topic--I'm going to be moving into an apartment and staying in the Rochester area this summer instead of going home unless some unforseen event happens in the next 5 weeks. I'm so excited to be on my own for the first time. I'm looking for a waitressing job down here for the summer alongside A&F. This brings me to another funny thing career orientented topic. I'm considering taking a manager position at A&F when I graduate until I can find a teaching job. Nashville is still a possibility but in signing a lease I'm committing myself to staying in Michigan until next summer, and I need a few options.

Celebration is well... crazy. My nights have been plagued with practices, but it's been fun. I was seriously considering not participating this year because my schedule is so full; however, I'm so glad I did. It is my senior year, and I have had so many laughs doing it this one last year. Of course this is merely the beginning of tech week... talk to me in about 24 more hours. :)

Student Teaching... well it's been more of a challenge then I thought it would be but great! Every day I wonder if this is the right career path for me and the more I get into teaching the more I start to think this is the right choice for me. Last week I taught a lesson on commas Tuesday then had to grade a huge stack of papers and write my lesson plans to cover the common mistakes everyone seemed to be struggling with to teach first thing on Wedneday. I of course had my own classes, work, and celebration practice too which made this more difficult... but when I began grading the papers and seeing how I could help to improve my student's grammar I was really happy. I love being in front of a class with 30 kids looking to me for direction. It's such a big responsibility, but I'm up for the challenge.

So, that's a small update into the crazy schedule I've been coping with the past couple of weeks. I wish I had more time to sleep, but then I think that I have all the time in the world to sleep after college, right?

Oh and how could I forget March Madness?!? I love watching the college basketball tourney every March. It's truly one of the things I look forward to each year, and I struggle tearing myself away from the t.v. because the upsets and OTs are so exciting. I'm not claiming to be a bracket expert, although I try. :) It's just something fun that really makes the stress of everything else melt away at least for a few hours....that is all.