Summer Fun comes to an end!

Wow it has been a long time since I've written! I had the best of intentions of keeping up with this blog, but life got in the way. I spend most of the summer traveling (I was only home for 3 weeks) and I preferred to live life rather than document it. I have tons of posts planned-trip recaps from Italy and Amsterdam, the new donut shop in town, new lesson ideas, a few fashion posts! 

I head back to work full time on Tuesday. However, I've spent the last few days working on my classroom. On the last day of school I had to board a plane at 4:30 to leave for vacation and I had to move to a new classroom that day as well. Needless to say I didn't do a very good job moving and all my stuff was just piled haphazardly in the middle of my new room. It has taken 3 full 8 hour days to get some semblance of order. Now that I'm finally set up (at least mostly) and now that I have lessons planned for the first few weeks I'm feeling better.

Like most teachers I'm dealing with the end of summer blues. I truly am excited for the year to start, but it's depressing to have summer come to an end. I think all teachers deal with the struggle of transitioning back into a school schedule and routine. During the summer we get used to having our freedom, doing what we want when we want and having no obligations or set schedule. It's just like coming back from a vacation, expect the vacation is much longer. I've figured out a few tips to make the transition easier.

1. Plan! Make a set schedule and a strict plan for those first few weeks of school as soon into summer as you possibly can! It takes so much pressure off and makes the transition easier when you aren't worrying about planning.

2. Keep responsibilities light for the first few weeks: teaching requires you to go go go all day long and we can't really change that. Those first few weeks I just plan on being exhausted after work and I try to not plan much for after school. I try to plan easy dinners, schedule time for relaxing and try to slow down a little bit.

3. Get on a regular sleep schedule: I always get off my schedule during the summer. I stay up late and sleep in. This summer has been worse since I spent most of it traveling internationally and my body was so messed up. I've been trying to go to bed a little earlier each night and wake up a little earlier each morning. Start getting back on schedule 2 weeks or so before school starts and that first week won't be such a crash.

4. Start planning for next summer: I keep a running list throughout the school year of things I want to accomplish over the summer. The list encompasses everything from chores and house projects to vacations and creative things! It helps me to remember that there will always be another summer!

5. Plan a short vacation: Luckily I go back in mid-August so we are only in school for a couple of weeks before its Labor Day. Even though it's only a 3 day weekend I use the time to take a short trip (even just to see my parents) or head out to the lake! Luckily the weather is usually nice enough to enjoy the outdoors and you can enjoy that last gasp of summer! It gives me something to look forward to during the first few weeks and it's a nice break!

6. Remember how lucky you are! Most adults don't get such a long break, enjoy it! Remember you have one of the best jobs in the world and back to school means a new year, new kids, new lessons and more chances to change the world! 

As I get back on a schedule I'll be posting more, once I get back into a routine and meet my new classes. I hope all of you had a wonderful summer and a relaxing break (however long you got)!

Teacher's Aren't Martyrs

As the school year is coming to a close and I prepare to leave for summer break I keep pondering the teaching profession. More and more I see new articles, Facebook posts and blog posts etc. etc. accusing teachers of every wrong thing that has ever happened. Teaching as a profession is something that is easy to criticize and a convenient scapegoat for a lot of things. That being said I see the constant posts from other teachers where they make themselves out to be a martyr.

I hear complaints ranging from "we don't actually get summers off", "we do a lot of work at home", "we arrive early and stay late", "we don't get paid enough" etc. etc. and those comments frustrate me-they make the whole teaching profession look lazy and give people a bad impression of us.

I do work in the summers absolutely, but I don't work anything close to a 40 hour week. My only school related OBLIGATION (something that is required) for the summer is a 4 day conference in July-and it's only a obligation because I took a volunteer leadership position at school. There are many professional learning opportunities available to me and I'm sure I'll take advantage of some of them, but most of my summer will be my own. I do have a ton of work to do preparing for the next school year (as all teachers do), but I can set my own hours and working from my couch is way better than being in an office.

It is pretty awesome to get a 2 week Christmas break (which no professional job that I know of gives you) and a week at Thanksgiving, a Spring Break and plenty of random days throughout the year. Most other jobs aren't lucky enough to get that many breaks (and there aren't usually work related obligations during those times). DH and I don't have to choose between visiting my parents or his at Christmas since I get a 2 week break-because of that we have the time to do both. However, in order for DH to get the 2 weeks off he has to save all his vacation days and sick days and comp time for the WHOLE YEAR in order to get that time. I get all the breaks plus I get 12 days a year of sick time. That's a pretty great perk.

I do arrive early and I do stay late as do many of the other teachers I know. There have been plenty of nights where I haven't gotten home until 8:00, however, there are many days when I'm home by 4. DH is an engineer (definitely a professional job) yet there are many mornings he has to be at work by 5 in order to support a build or work with an overseas supplier. He often works 18 hour days-especially when he is on the road and he spends 6 months of every year traveling. He often spends 6 weeks or more away from home-no weekends at home, no evenings at home nothing!

As for the pay I don't make a ton, but I don't make nothing. DH makes WAY more money than me, but in my mind he works harder. In fact, I look around at my "professional" friends and I see that they have less freedom than I do, less time off than I do and they work harder and longer hours.

I don't do a ton of school work at home-at least I try very hard not to. Of course there are days that I have to bring home grading etc. but I use every single minute of my plan period to make sure that I get as much done during work hours as I can.

Teaching is not an easy job by any means, but then again neither is any other job. I feel that some teachers get an inflated sense of self-worth and they don't seem to realize teaching is a job just like any other. I've heard the argument that teaching is more important than other jobs because we affect the future of children. However, if DH messes up a design or misses something during testing he can cause people to DIE. At least I don't have to be 100% perfect or someone might die-suddenly teaching seems easy!

Teachers are attacked in the media, by our government etc. etc. and it's becoming worse. Plenty of other public service jobs are under attack at well (law enforcement springs to mind). The worst part is the fact that a lot of the accusations leveled at teachers are true. It is your job at a teacher to do the best thing for your students at all times, to work hard and to strive to change the public perception of teaching. Is that something unique to teaching?-Kind of.....but it's a responsibility you willingly took on.

Is teaching important? ABSOLUTELY! However, it is a job-all jobs require you to work hard, devote plenty of time to finding success and no one ever gets paid what they think they are work. Teachers-feel lucky that you get to work in a job that gives you paid vacations multiple times a year, time to work at home, shorter work hours (even if you don't get them every day), freedom to do things your way and the opportunity to influence the future of your country. If you are one of those people falling into the trap of complaining about how undervalued you are either do something to make a positive change for the perception of teaching or find a job where you will be valued. Honestly, you chose to go into teaching-you knew what the job entailed before you started and you made the choice-be accountable for your choice.

We as teachers can't keep making ourselves out as martyrs or as people with the worst jobs in the world. There are definitely things wrong with education (but that can be said for any industry), but we are in the unique position to change the future of America. We get to spend each and every day with the funny and unique people that make up the youth of America-even if they are surly sometimes or unmotivated. Teachers need to stop whining and start changing-we don't have it ANY worse than ANYONE else. In fact we have it better than A LOT of people-in fact we have it better than many people who work "fancy jobs". All jobs have hard parts and all jobs have awesome parts (as I always tell my students-there is good and bad in everything).

So teachers: as you're enjoying your summer break take a minute to do something positive for the public perception of teacher. Write a letter to the newspaper talking about all the awesome things your school does, plan a community involvement event, reach out to a former student, leave a Facebook comment on a news website about teacher. At the same time take a minute to think about why you have the BEST job in the world-if you don't think your job is the BEST maybe you should spend your summer researching a career change.

End of the School Year Wrap Up

The 2014-2015 school year is coming to a close-only three more days left with students! I'm genuinely excited for summer, but at the same time I dread the end of school. The last day of school means letting go of the students I've worked so hard with for the past nine month, it means that I won't have one more chance to finally get those light bulbs to click on and it always means something is changing.

Gone are the days where teachers stayed in the same room year after year and taught the same lessons each year. I do repeat a few lessons each year, but for the most part summer is my time to refresh, find new ways of teacher, reflect on what worked and what didn't work etc. etc. This summer is going to be even busier because I'm changing subjects for next year. For the past four years I've taught English and next year I'm going to be a Social Studies teacher! I'm thrilled since my degree is in Social Studies and the English certification was just a back up in case I couldn't get a Social Studies job (and I'm thankful I had it).

While I'm super excited to be teaching my first love and getting to share my passion for history and government with my students I'm also freaking out a little bit over the amount of work that has to be done. My new colleagues are super supportive and helpful-always freely sharing resources but we have a new test to prepare for so none of us have all the resources we need. We need to get better at meeting the Common Core Standards and at covering document based questions so we're rewriting our tests, creating new lessons together and figuring out strategies to teach writing and reading in the Social Studies department. It makes me thankful I have the English experience so I'm already ahead of the curve-History and English are super easy to mix! This year I taught World War II/Holocaust, Civil War and The Great Depression all in the context of covering literature from those eras.

However, even though mixing English and History is easy it still requires a lot of work on my part. I have a ton of ideas for teaching and for making our Social Studies classes even better! Social Studies is often seen as something that isn't important (and it certainly isn't afforded the importance of Math and English), often times it is looked at more as an elective rather than a core class. However, Social Studies is a great opportunity to inspire students to make changes in their world, emphasize high level reading skills, utilize critical thinking skills to analyze historical documents and social problems and to write essays and letters that require evidence and the defense of a position. Social Studies can also help students become better citizens and affect our whole world in a positive manner. It is my goal to make Social Studies a course that is important, relevant and an important part of a well rounded education.

I'm afraid of falling into the trap of showing movies everyday (since there are SO MANY excellent Social Studies movies) or just having students color maps every single day. I've seen classes like that and I can't see the educational value-I want a class that is rigorous, truly prepares students for high school and life and inspires passion in my students. Too many kids complain that history is boring-but there are SO MANY fun things about history and I want to expose them to all of it!

Along with my new subject I have to move rooms as well so the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of cardboard and tape! DH is away on a business trip so I'm holding down the fort at home along with packing up a whole classroom (and I'm one of those teachers who should probably be featured on Hoarders). I'm also leaving for Europe on the last day of school to meet up with DH which means I'm desperately trying to get the yard mowed in between rain showers (which seem to be occurring every single day), running the dog to the vet to get shots, packing for the trip, buying last minute items, packing all the things DH forgot etc etc.

Even though my summers are never a do nothing time for me (seriously my to do list is 4 typed pages long!) I'm excited to catch up on all the stuff I neglect during the school year and prepare for my new classroom and my new subject. Plus I'm thrilled for a four day educational conference, two different trips to Europe and plenty of time with the dog! DH is in his busy time at work (harvest time) so he'll be traveling most of the summer, but I can't wait for the days he is home so we can do super fun stuff together (like swimming and bike rides). I'm also planning on teaching the dog to go on bike rides with me so she can get more exercise (since her vet said she was getting chunky) without killing my injured foot!

I'm sad to say goodbye to my current group of students and my current subject-I've really enjoyed my English career-yet I can't wait to see what next year holds! Posting will probably be light for the next few weeks as I travel and check things off the massive list, but I'll post when I can and hopefully posting will resume soon!

Cell Phone Jail

My kiddos started state assessments this morning-that means a full week of testing and vainly attempting to keep them quiet. I came to school loaded down with a tote bag full of hard candies to keep them quiet and stacks of word searches, crosswords and mazes to distract them after the test.

 Massive bag of candy-purchased and paid for by me! Thank a teacher for all they buy for your students during the year. I've spent about $500.00 already this year!

 Things to keep them entertained!

Keeping them off their cell phones is SUPER important during the test-and I knew if I let them keep their cell phones in their pockets they would be tempted to sneak a peek at Instagram or Snapchat during the test. That's a huge violation of testing security and makes BIG problems for the teacher. Last year a colleague had a student ANSWER his cell phone in the middle of the test-apparently it was his mom and he couldn't ignore a call from his mom! It caused a huge mess for sure :)

I set up a cell phone jail for my students-simply a plastic tub where they were required to place their cell phones before the test. They put a Post-It with their name on it on their device, turned the device off and left it in the tub. I warned my kids ahead of time that we would be doing this (so I didn't have the inevitable fights) and it went smoothly. I didn't have ONE problem with the kids giving up their devices! It was amazing :)

Cell phone jail!

It was amazing to watch the transformation in my kiddos as well-they are usually glued to their devices if they have time. We have the daily struggle to keep kids engaged in the lesson and keep them off their phones. I often catch students scrolling mindlessly through Facebook when they are supposed to be working. The kids get in trouble for their addiction to their devices, but I'm no better-I'm often checking e-mail or looking at Facebook if I have a few spare moments.

Everyone finished the first section of their test and we had about 20 minutes left in the testing session. I told the kids it was okay to chat and expected a rush to get their phones! No one came to get their phone (and a few kids even forgot their phones when they left class). It was neat to watch my students work together to solve a word search, draw a picture together, play tic tac toe or just chat with a friend with no distractions. It was a great reminder to put down the technology and truly live. It was great to see how easy it was for them to let go of the phones (and to be fair I put mine in jail too). Without their phones they were still able to entertain themselves quite easily-a skill we often forget we have.

Some of my students commented that they didn't miss their phone or that we should have technology free days again! It was amazing to see my students who are of the tech generation truly live in the moment-and not be chronicling every second for Instagram. My students had more real conversations in that 20 minutes than we've had all year! Some students were even talking to kids they don't usually talk to which was amazing. When technology is removed you are forced to connect with the humans around you-which is a good thing!

What a good reminder to put down the cell phone and live! Tonight I'll be putting away the cell phone and the iPad and enjoying my husband and my dog without snapping one picture for Facebook or checking my e-mail. I'll focus on living and creating memories rather than chronicling memories to share with everyone. DH and I are going to have technology free days at least once a week-hopefully more! I'm also going to do a weekly technology free day in my classroom this year and next year! Let's learn how to live without technology distracting us! I challenge you to put down the phone and really live in the moment-you will be richly rewarded.

Rain snow summer

As the title suggests our midwest weather has been a little nuts lately. Two weeks ago it was 80 degrees and today it's 13 and snowing! I love winter weather and I love warm weather-just not at the same time!

The constant changes in weather cause my auto-immune diseases to flare up which makes it no fun for anyone. The more I hurt the grumpier I get-I'm just ready for the weather to be constant again.

The worst part about weather changes is the affect it has on my students-it never fails when there is a weather change their behavior gets worse and worse. This past month has been super challenging for the kids-they keep hoping for a snow day which hasn't happened yet!

State assessments are coming up so I've been pushing them which doesn't help-we have so much to cover and not nearly enough time to do it in. I've been gone a bunch during February which doesn't help. It's just been one of those months.

While I still have to respond to misbehavior it's helpful to at least have some understanding of why they are misbehaving. Since I teach 8th graders I can explain to them why I have to be gone and prepare them-which does help with a little bit of the misbehavior. Honestly February is probably the worst month for teacher-and I'm happy it's over!

Sometimes in teacher you just have to grit your teeth and do your best. It's always okay to take a break! Today my kiddos are watching Scooby Doo-not for any academic purpose but for a nice treat. So far this week they've made propaganda comic strips and written a lengthy book review. Last week they wrote an argumentative essay and made a parts of speech collage-they've worked hard and they deserve a treat (plus it's letting me catch up on all the grading!)

Even though teaching is a high pressure business (hello high stakes tests and Common Core!) you really just have to let it go sometimes!

How to Impress your Boss

It's been freezing cold here for the past few days. I'm a Southern girl and Southern blood runs through my veins-any temperature under 60 is entirely too cold for me. I live in a permanent state of freezing and DH complains about my habit of cranking the thermostat up to 80 and sitting on the couch under an electric blanket on high. He's accused me of being a reptile more than once in our relationship, which should offend me, but I'm pretty sure it's true. Last summer during a 100 degree heatwave I spent a week with the air conditioning off-DH was quite pleased when he returned from a business trip to a house that felt like a wood-fired pizza oven (those are trendy now right?)

When the single digit weather hit this week all thoughts of dressing for cuteness went out the window-I was dressing purely for function. This meant jeans and thick sweaters-which worked great until I ran out of clean jeans on Wednesday. Unless sweatpants are suddenly considered appropriate work wear I was stuck wearing a dress to work. I attempted to make it warmer with tights and a layered sweater, but the minute I opened the back door I realized I would freeze on my way to the car.

The only practical solution was to layer fleece pajama pants over my dress, wrap a scarf around my head and brave the 20 foot walk to the detached garage (and of course the 10 minutes before my heated seats warmed up). I was quite proud of my innovative fashion sense as I strolled across the icy parking lot into school-my co-workers were shivering and I was toasty warm.

I stepped into the nicely heated building and ran directly into my principal-of course he was nattily attired in a sweater and dress pants. He gave my outfit a once over and I realized how ridiculous I looked. Imagine this: black J. Crew ski cap, black and red Target gloves with a tear in the finger and a strange red pattern along the hand, mint green Colombia jacket (that I've owned since I was in 8th grade) with a few chew marks at the bottom where the dog got her teeth in it and dirt marks from where I fell in the back yard playing with dog. Added to this stylish ensemble were my fuzzy blue pajama pants adorned with jumping and leaping sheep and black riding boots over them. The principal's expression conveyed that he was extremely impressed with my fashion choices (or thought I was slowly losing my mind). He was so impressed he didn't even say anything to me! I'm pretty sure this will reflect positively on me at my next performance review.

Of course when I got to my classroom I slipped off the outerwear that was concealing my work appropriate outfit-and I didn't see my boss the whole day. I'm pretty sure he thought I spent the whole day teaching in my pajamas (which sounds like a fine idea). Guess this is the price you pay for warmth.

Heigh ho, heigh ho back to school we go

Yesterday was the first day back with my 8th graders after a 19 day break! I was happy to be back with them, but dang was it hard getting back into the routine. I love the fact that teaching allows me the freedom that I want for my life since I do have these long breaks-but I love getting back to the structure of my classroom and having a routine for my day.

One stumbling block in my plan to finding a career that would allow me to stay home is the fact that I'm HORRIBLE without my routine. I made myself a 2 page list of things to accomplish over break and completed just a few of them. I can always find things to distract myself from the drudgery of work (like snuggling with DH or the cute puppy). Spending time with my family trumps every other thing in my life.

It was nice to be back to work, but oh how I haven't missed those 6:00 am wake-up calls! I'm definitely NOT a morning person-as evidenced by the fact that DH usually spends 20 minutes trying to get me out of bed in the morning! Yesterday was even tougher as I had spent Sunday night in the emergency room and I was still struggling through the effects of a morphine shot and a significant sleep deficit. (Nothing to be concerned about-just a small little thing that I will be discussing in more detail later). I made it through the day (just barely) and was so relieved when I finally got home.

Usually the first day back is tough for the kiddos as well-they are amped up to see their friends and SO not in the mood for schoolwork. I have pretty awesome classroom management skills so I don't usually deal with major problems, but we still have more than usual on days before and after break. Yesterday I explained to my kids that I wasn't feeling well and asked them for awesome sauce behavior and they ALL complied! It was awesome that they were compassionate and gave me what I needed to not go crazy. That's one reason why I LOVE teaching middle school-underneath all that kid behavior you start to get glimpses of the adults they are becoming (sometimes that's not a good thing).

Today I'm feeling much better and I've accomplished more today than I did over all of break! :) I even managed to get a massage and facial scheduled for myself on Saturday to give myself a mini-break! Many many doctors over the past 8 months have told me that I need to destress and try to find ways to relax. I will admit that I'm terrible at relaxing-I have a type-A personality for crying out loud! Relaxing is not in my vocabulary! DH is a total type-B and is probably the most laid back person I've ever met. He rarely yells at other drivers while I spend my 25 minute commute shouting at everyone else (I'm not really yelling-rather I'm providing corrections for their behavior). DH also doesn't panic if the suitcases aren't unpacked the minute we get home from a trip (he has a tendency to leave his packed suitcase in the middle of the living room floor for 2 weeks), but he does freak out over dishes in the sink. Honestly if I relaxed we would live in further squalor and disaster than we usually do since neither of us would be getting done-who would panic over the finances, the dog's vaccinations, her diet, the grocery shopping and the million and one things that need to get done. After the ER scare on Sunday I'm making a concerted effort to relax more and one way of doing that is to spend 75.00 on a spa day-I have a feeling that won't make me relax any more than burning it in the yard would but I'm giving it a shot.

I will say I feel a heck of a lot more relaxed now that I'm back at work and structured. I even got a ton of Christmas shopping done over my plan period today :)  

Days in my life that I've felt grown up

By all rights and purposes I am a grown up. I can smoke, drink, serve in the armed forces, make decisions for myself and rent a car without the underage penalty. Someone also thought that I was mature and responsible enough to be in charge of 120 8th graders for 8 hours a day. However, I usually don't feel grown up, more like a kid pretending. DH and I lived together for almost 4 years before getting married and for most of that time I felt that we were just playing house and my real home was in my childhood bedroom. There has only been a few times in my life that I've kind of felt slightly grown up. In no particular order:

1. Signing the closing papers on my first house. There is nothing more humbling than signing the papers to owe the bank more money than you've ever owed anybody. My hair was wet from an ill-timed shower and DH was late after getting lost on the way to the bank. I had to go home because I forgot to bring the checkbook and I couldn't find a parking space. 

2. The first night I spent in my first house: the day my then-fiancée (now DH) and I finally moved out of our rental was a freezing cold January day with a sprinkling of snow on the ground. Both sets of parents came to help us move and we took everyone out to Chilis for dinner. That night we announced our week old engagement and after celebrating we returned to our first grown up house. My parents snapped a picture of us standing on the front porch with our arms wrapped around each other. We look terrified and much too young to be homeowners. That night we curled up together in our brand new queen size bed (a gift from Grandma) and tried to adjust to the strange noises that an old house makes.

3. The first day of my teaching career: I was 21 years old and four months removed from the college lifestyle. I had been hired a week before the first day of school and I was woefully unprepared for my first crop of students (I taught 7th grade at a different school from my current one for one year). I stood up before my first class and launched into my first day presentation while trying to keep my voice steady and quell the butterflies in my stomach. It was absolutely terrifying to realize that I was solely responsible for these kids and their success or failure. I was a terrible teacher that first year before I finally learned everything I should of learned during 4 years of college.

4. The day we adopted our dog: I had been begging for a dog for quite awhile and on a bright June day we picked out our sweet puppy. The adoption went quick and before we knew it we were loading her up in the back of my SUV and taking her home. She puked all over the backseat less than a mile from the shelter and it was the first time I'd ever cleaned up anyone's bodily fluids without gagging. After we got home and got her settled in DH went back to town to get some sorely needed dog supplies and dinner for us while I stayed home with the new addition. Once he left she followed me from room to room and I ended up sobbing in the bedroom because I was afraid I would never love her and that I would never be alone again. She was so clingy it scared me, but within a week we were inseparable. 

5. The first time I was sick alone: My junior year of college I got pretty sick and was confined to my apartment for a week. I lived alone and my parents weren't nearby so this was my first time being truly alone and sick. Due to the nature of my illness people couldn't come over so I was really alone. When I was hungry I couldn't rely on mom to make me food, it was up to me to check my temperature, make myself food and keep myself in a steady supply of Gatorade and trashy tv. I lost 6 pounds in a week, but I learned how to take care of myself.

7. Traveling in Europe by myself: Last summer DH had to go to France for work. For the cost of a plane ticket I got to tag along and crash in his company paid hotel room. During the day he worked and I was on my own. I roamed all over the Loire Valley on the train and tried to make myself understood by the locals. My French is atrocious and I had no fallback plan, my cell phone was turned off and I was alone in a foreign country. The most marvelous part of the trip was roaming through Paris alone and eating dinner under the Eiffel Tower all by myself. I gained so much confidence in myself and my abilities to communicate and navigate. Prior to this trip I tended to rely on other people to plan my trips for me (namely my mom and DH) and to take care of me. I had never been to Europe without my mom and she lived in Germany and Italy and speaks eight languages fluently so she has no problem getting around. This trip was the best trip because I made the schedule (or lack thereof) and decided what to do and where to eat. I could sit on a bench reading my book for an hour and watching the people go by instead of rushing to activity after activity. I was able to absorb the true flavor of the country instead of just the stuff tourists see. It was a truly inspiring trip that made me more confident and inspired me to take more risks (my type A personality is totally against risk) and live less of a scheduled life.

Every time I have a new experience (writing my first thousand dollar check, buying a car, setting up a retirement account or writing my will) I feel just a little bit more grown up, it's like it sinks in just a little more that I really am a grown up. You may have noticed that my wedding didn't make the list, I really didn't feel grown up after marriage. DH and I had lived together for 4 years and the wedding was just another day in our life. He makes me feel like a kid (and he acts like one a lot) and he just completes me-it would feel unnatural not to be with him so marriage didn't really change our lives. However, when I look around at friends who are my age (or younger) that are popping out babies I shudder to think that I'm theoretically old enough to be someone's mother (other than my puppy). What experiences make you feel like a "real" adult?

A Brief History of Me

My name is Nicole and I'm in my mid-twenties. I teach 8th grade English in a school with a very odd population. I've been married less than a year to my dear Hubby (DH) who I dated for four years before finally consenting to wed him. He's a ridiculously logical and practical engineer with a side of absent minded professor. I, on the other hand, am impractical and imaginative which as you can imagine leads to some tension at times. We live in a tiny rural town in the heartland of the country with our crazy two year old rescue dog (the love of my life-I promised my husband in our wedding vows that I would love him more than the dog-it's the one vow I've been unable to keep). For all her cuteness she is truly nuts and requires anti-anxiety medicine and heavily stuffed Kongs to enable us to leave the house without her eating holes in the drywall. 

I'm an only child which means I'm extraordinarily close to my parents, but I'm also self-centered and occasionally selfish. Until I moved in with my husband I never had to share a bathroom, my food, the tv remote or a bedroom with anyone. Now, almost five years later I'm still trying to adjust to some other human in my space all the time, even a human being who I love dearly. Things are made a little more complicated by the fact that DH travels 6 months out of the year for work which means half the year I get to be a single gal with all the responsibilities of a married woman and half the year I'm a married woman having to adjust to having a spouse. It certainly makes for an interesting life.

I recently was rewarded for two years of paper writing and reading boring books by being granted a Masters in Education. Supposedly this will make me a better teacher (at least I get a higher salary for it), but I'm still unsure as to how two years of writing papers on my teaching philosophy and my hypothetical students will make me a better teacher to the 120 students who grace my classroom every day. However, I'm intending to start my doctorate in the fall which will probably turn me into SUPERTEACHER!!!!! At least it will earn me a nice chunk of change and the right to make people call me doctor (of course I will be as obnoxious as possible about it).

I wanted to be a teacher, but it always was a fall back plan to becoming a writer. I expected to write my first novel, send it off to a few literary agents and instantly score a book and movie deal. I spent my morning showers planning what I would say on the Today show and Good Morning America (despite having never seen an episode of either of the shows). I figured I would teach for a year and then I would be the next J.K. Rowling. I happily finished my first manuscript and began the fun process of querying every agent in Writer's Digest. The wonders of modern technology allowed me to receive my rejection letters in a matter of minutes rather than weeks and they kept rolling in. After four months and 62 rejections I pulled out the manuscript to look at it for the first time since the whole querying process began and I was HORRIFIED by what I saw. The writing was juvenile and the plot was tough to follow. The whole manuscript stank of desperation and amateur writing and I was embarrassed to have ever sent it to anyone. 

That fun experience killed my writing dreams for awhile (about 3 years) and real life got in the way of having time to write. I still kept a list of ideas for books and stories that popped into my head at the most inopportune times (such as when I was wrestling with insomnia or trying to merge onto a crowded highway). I read tons of books about the craft of writing and books by authors I admire. I wrote a few stories and started on a few novels, but the passion just wasn't there. I have finally found a story I'm passionate about (and my view on the publishing industry is much more realistic and rooted in reality than it was) so I'm ready to start writing again. As a part of my process I decided that blogging would be a good way for me to keep my writing muscles active and overcome my crippling fear of people reading my writing (I can't even let the DH or my best friend-aka my mom-read my writing). Letting strangers on the Internet read my innermost thoughts and allowing them into my life is something that terrifies me so I figure it will be good preparation for my eventual Today show interview. 

I've tried blogging three or four times before and I've never had good results. I usually give up after post three or four because I run out of interesting things to say. It's hard to share about the hot party or cool club when I wasn't invited (and even if I was I wouldn't have gone anyways). Somehow a years worth of blog posts about the most sanitized portions of my job (since I can't share the most fun parts publicly in the interest of student privacy) and nights spent on the couch with my dog and a good book don't make for the most exciting reading. In preparation for my own blog attempt I've read up on blogs from a wide range of authors (including a friend of mine who now makes a living blogging). I've promised to give it a true and faithful shot for 2015. 

Thanks for reading!