My first teaching gig...

So Wednesday August 25th, I have the exciting opportunity to teach a lesson to a group of 50 eighth graders at Kastner Middle School. To sum the expectation of the experience up, in one word... YIKES!!

I am terrified, beyond scared, shaking in my boots, about to toss my lunch, and crap my pants. :-/ too graphic, sorry about that. This will be my first experience teaching to a live group of students. Now, many would ask, "Hey Shannon, didn't you receive your Bachelors degree in Communication?" And the answer to that question would be a proud yes! But the reality is, that was different. When I gave a speech, sure I created it, and sure I stood up in front of a class of my peers, but the truth is, half of them probably tuned me out. Their educational knowlege didn't rest on the weight of whether or not I could persuade them that the 2nd amendment was right or wrong (a speech I gave). I am giving a lesson to a bunch of students, who likely will be tuning me out, but who very well may be hearing about literary terms for the first time in their lives; I will be their first impression. So, I'll say it again, YIKES!

For now, I shall breathe, and hope for the best. The reality is, my first few lessons probably will suck, but practice makes perfect right. I will do the dang thang on Wednesday, and give it my all.

Oh... Did I mention I have to video tape myself teaching the lesson, and watch it with MY classmates, while they critique me? Yikes.

A Million Little Pieces

I tend to glean tidbits of information about life through novels, and the novel A Million Little Pieces is no exception.

Specifically, there is a point in the novel where the main character has a moment of intense reflection and solitude. Now, the important thing to note is that this momemt of reflection & solitude is unlike anything I am used to. These moments, for me at least, involve a lot of thinking; my mind moving a mile a minute, processing whatever is being thrown my way. His moments consisted of ridding himself of all worry, thought, and desire, and just being still, mindless sitting. I envy him.

I think reflection is important, it allows us to evaluate where we were, and what needs to change moving forward. Reflection shows us what's working, and what's not working. But the moment I read the character's act of emptying out his mind, I yearned for a similar experience. I can't describe why it's so inticing. I think it's the fact that I am constantly bombarded by the worries of the day, and the things of life, that not thinking about anything offers a sense of peace and escape.

Unfortunately, it is impossible, in my opinion, to completely rid yourself of all your thoughts, but I have come to discover that it is important to try. So, moving forward, I am going to try and find some time to reflect in solitude once in a while. We will see how it goes.