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whitemyst
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Name: g-race
Country: United States
State: California
Birthday: 1/6/1987
Interests: being myself (the DORK)
Expertise: goofing off, making a fool of myself, being a dork, cbsb!, procrastinator expert..
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
1/6/2003
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| Nada. That's not the case. In fact, I don't think I've neglected Xanga since...yeah, I can't even remember. It's been that long. I think it's the fact that people seem to be phasing out Xanga. In addition, I'm managing about 3 blogs (this one, classroom one, and another one that was "supposed to" be for my teacher reflections). Yeah, it's not happening. Utter fail.
Talk about changing my whole perspective. If I thought student teaching was tough, actual teaching tops it, hands down. You have to be in the field to fully understand what I mean. I guess that's what makes me love it (and simultaneously drives me insane).
I'm slowly creeping out of the classroom more (thanks to the prodding of some fellow teachers -- I'm very thankful to them, actually. I need more of those people who drag me out or come socialize with me). Teaching has taken over my life!! An example of this might be how I was moping around at home trying to find something to do last Saturday night. Not to say I didn't have plenty of things to do--I did. I resorted to wandering around the kitchen (never a good idea, in my case) and scouring youtube (it's kind of sad how I can entertain myself solely on youtube). People skills? What people skills? I think the people I most frequently see these days fall into 3 categories--Family, kids, and fellow co-workers. Everyone outside of that is almost nonexistent. I make myself sad, although I know I'm the one at fault. Ah well! So much for changing things up.
I feel like taking a trip. I love traveling and I haven't taken a trip in awhile. It'd be fun to go with friends, but I don't know who I'd go with since many of them have conflicting schedules with me. In addition to trips, I was thinking of doing some more adventurous things.
A couple, just off the top of my head, include:
- ziplining (looks fun!)
- whitewater rafting (did it once before and loved it!)
- windsurfing
- snorkelling (although I remember in elementary school when I learned how to use the snorkel mask, I hated clearing the water out and breathing through just my mouth :P)
- scuba diving
Just traveling would suit me fine. A couple places I'd like to visit, again just off the top of my head:
- New Caledonia
- Europe, in general (never been)
- Korea
- Hawaii
- the usual places I frequent not so frequently (Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, etc)
Hmm, when shall I travel and with whom? Food for thought. :)
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| Of all the things to neglect, I never imagined xanga would be one of them.
It's amazing how things are finally winding down...
Crazy how in a few days, I'll be "done".
Do I feel prepared?
There is one feeling, however, that stands out among others.
And that is excitement.
I can't wait to step forth into my new classroom.
I can't wait to try out the things I've learned.
I can't wait to see that my students are having fun learning.
I can't wait.
Truly, this has been a grueling ride for me.
Utterly exhausting doesn't even come close to describing what I've felt.
On days, I've slept 2-4 hours (actually, I did that consecutively for ~1 week and almost crashed from exhaustion).
On average, I sleep around 1-2 and have to be at school by 7:30~7:45 at very latest.
It doesn't make a lot of sense, but I seem to perform at my best on the days with fewest hours of sleep.
Maybe it's the delirium talking.
Some days I just wanted to shake some sense into my "space cadets" (what my master teacher affectionately calls my 5th graders, since they're spacey, haha).
They can seriously drive me insane at times.
I read some of their 5th grade reflections today.
I was touched.
I was mentioned in some students' reflections and it made me feel like I truly made a difference.
I don't care if it's just a small stepping stone.
I can now say I made a difference.
I'll cherish all of the memories (both good and bad) from this year.
I remember all those days I spent after school helping students with their homework.
"Light bulbs" appearing.
Feeling anxious about being observed and wondering if my lesson plans are any good.
Will the kids like my lesson? Will they behave? Will they respond?
And now it's all coming to an end.
I ask myself sometimes--was this the right choice? Am I ready?
Ready or not, here I come.
All and all, even though it's really been a tough year...
I haven't let on how hard it's been--and not just school-wise.
Life-wise, it's been a rocky year.
At the same time, it's also been amazing.
I feel proud of my accomplishments.
During the last Staff Learning Day, I walked around campus to look at other teachers' classrooms.
I snapped pictures, gathering classroom ideas for next year.
I was excited.
I AM excited.
I feel motivated.
Weary, yes.
However, I feel like teaching really won't offer me any dull moments.
I love it!
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| I noticed that my latest posts have been a lot of ANGST! And STRESS! And RAHRAHRAH! I blame it on how I cannot take it out on my kids. It just doesn’t work that way. I guess this is my outlet. Speaking of venting, I verified one of my pet peeves. I cannot stand people who are chattering away when the teacher is talking. No, I don’t mean indiscernible whispers. Like, full-fledged distracting-to-other-students kind of chatter. Ugh, drives me nuts. Granted, I know at times I can be quite the chatterbox, but it’s usually within reason. So today in hip hop class, we had to sit and give our critiques on others’ choreography. I’ll admit that it was rather boring and I never offer much suggestion (it’s not my cup of tea + the class simply does not have a warm “family” feel to it—but that topic can be elaborated on a different day). Anyway, so we’re running a little overtime, and these 2 girls (who also happen to be in my final choreography dance group—more on that in a bit) are just SO DISTRACTING. I was trying to shoot them evil glares, but obviously it wasn’t working or they weren’t taking the hint. Like, literally no one else was talking (minus the teacher). So irritating. They were looking at their Iphone/Ipod (?), cracking up, and simply having a jolly good time (although they kept complaining, in Chinese, that the class was dragging on and we should already be able to go…) Now, these 2 individuals approached me a couple of weeks ago when we had to decide on groups for our “final”, which is basically 1 minute of self-made choreography. Initially, I had just been thinking of doing it solo, since I hadn’t really meshed with any particular classmates that well (the class is SO distant—it’s kind of sad. I go, dance, and leave.) Anyway, these 2 girls asked me if I wanted to be in a group, so I agreed. One of the girls (I think they both went to MV, but were my juniors by a couple of years—based on my observations. That’s besides the point though) seems like such a slacker. The other girl was actually trying to come up with some steps and worked okay with me, but the other girl was basically just sitting there, complaining that my steps were “too hard” (granted, some of it might be a little complicated, but I freakin’ slowed it down/made it easier for them—and on top of that, she complained when I slowed down the counts that it didn’t look good?) ARR, I feel as if I haven’t benefited much from taking this class. I really want to take a good hip hop class (still thinking of Ariel Dance Productions—good reviews), but there’s always the factor of $$$. Hello, cha-ching. Come hopping my way, yeah? | | |
| Given that my week has been crazy, I suppose it's to be expected that I "crashed" Wednesday night. After my dance performance (which was rather lame, in my opinion -- too many people, chaotic, and not up to my standards in terms of the entire perf), I went home. It was about 8:45ish when I got home. I ate and checked some e-mails, then decided that I MUST take a nap otherwise I wouldn't make it through the night. So I got in bed and napped at around 9:30, fully intending on waking up at 10 (PM) to do some work, lesson planning/thank you e-mails to interviewers/other "fun" stuff. Well, I did manage to wake up a little past 10, but at this point, I was so tired that I simply gave in. I went to bed. For me, this is pretty amazing, seeing how I have not gone to bed before 11:30 (or maybe even 12) since who knows when. I really should change that, but this night owl is, sadly, hooked on late hours. Anyway, went to sleep around 10:30ish and woke up in time to go to student teaching. Yay for "more sleep"!
On a note of the dwindling hours of sleep, I must comment on my health. My health is ever-quickly deteriorating, it seems. I've been afflicted by all types of maladies. Suddenly, all of those stories about teachers coming down with all sorts of illnesses doesn't seem so surprising to me.
Here are some stats/background of what I've been suffering from:
- in the past year (not even), I've lost my voice 3 times
- fatigue
- headaches
- stomachaches
- colds
- face has been breaking out a lot more
- odd aches and pains
That's keeping it pretty general, but needless to say...I've been doing a lot worse in terms of health this past year as opposed to previous years (where I'm generally quite healthy, I'd say). I certainly hope this is not a precursor to my future years. That would be rather troubling!
On a happier note, tomorrow is Friday!! TGIF! Seriously!
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| Augh, I think I'm in a cranky mood since I'm so exhausted.
I was out of the house from 7:30-8:30. Let me clarify: 7:30AM - 8:30PM. Student teaching, then interviews, then more interviews, then class, then one more interview, and then more class.
5 down, 5 more to go! I need extra hours in the day so I can sleep!! On a sad note, my voice was gradually getting better, but it got husky and deep after interviews (overuse, maybe?). Hopefully it'll come back fully this weekend!
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