Well the past two days have been quite a whirlwind. I went from the 4 or 8 hour work day to working 12 hours straight with the only break being the 15 minute drive between jobs. With that being said I really have had a few good days.
Yesterday was my birthday. I'm now officially 24, which scares me, but I realize that for a long time now I've acted older than I actually am so maybe I'm just catching up to myself. Something to look forward in the next few days is my 25 before 25 list. This idea came from my friend Anna who also blogs (look here: Love Like Laughter ). She just turned 24 last month and decided to come up with a list of 25 things to accomplish before turning 25. I'm almost done will mine and will post it sometime this weekend.
It was also the first day of school. So here is a little background about what I do at the high school. I'm currently working in the same high school I graduated from, which while being a little weird has been a wonderful experience. I run the Math Lab there. The short explanation is that it is a drop in tutoring center where any student can come during their study hall, lunch, or empty periods to get help with their math homework or to study for upcoming tests. This means that I work with all levels of math, algebra 1 through calculus and college algebra. It is a lot of fun! I get to meet a wide variety of students, and teach every level (sometimes at the same time). There can be stressful times- 17 high school students all working on different types of math and I'm the only adult in the room there to help- but it gave me a lot of joy last school year and I am expecting more of the same this year. So as I am not a "real" teacher in the traditional job description, I feel that I am still allowed to claim the title.
So yesterday I headed to the high school and walked right into a classroom full of desks, tables, chairs all pilled on top of each other, and every extra math book in the school. The room was just short of a disaster. Luckily I wasn't expecting too many students since it was the first day and many of the math teachers hadn't assigned homework yet. I spent about 2 hours setting the room up and making sure it logistically would work. I will have 10-15 kids during the busy lunch periods and 3-5 the rest of the day so having plenty of space to work and space to move around between students is important. I was content with the set up and then spent about 4 hours reading. I did have a few students from last year come in and say hi and chat for a few minutes which was welcomed!
After school I went to Mathnasium, and worked 4 1/2 hours there. It was a rather busy day there which meant I was actually teaching multiple students which felt productive. After work I went out to dinner with 3 good friends. We shared a delicious meal, wonderful conversation, and I had a delightful birthday dinner. Once I got home I talked with my parents and shared birthday and first day of school experiences and memories. It was a nice way to end a long but fulfilling day.
Today started a little rocky. I went to my car this morning to head into school and found that somehow (despite the car being locked and all of the windows intact), someone had gotten into my car, stole my gps as well as a few other car chargers that I had and had gone through everything else in my car. Luckily there was no damage to the car itself and it was right where I had left it, but it was a very violating and unsettling feeling. I had a hard time shaking it all day.
On a much more positive note I had students today actually working on math! It was so great to be back in the thick of things and teaching math to kids who wanted to learn and had questions! I was also able to have a calming conversation with another teacher. I felt welcomed back to school by both the teachers I work with (and who actually taught me while I went to school there) and by the students.
After working another 4 hours at Mathnasium I came home and enjoyed left over baked ziti and the ability to relax for a few minutes!
The birthday festivities continue tomorrow! After school, and applying for what will hopefully be my new apartment, I will be celebrating all night with good friends! I'm very excited to spend time with people and be happy! More details about that celebration, my 25 before 25 list, and other general life updates soon!
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