What a week! I have felt so many different emotions and while I came home on edge and feeling very overwhelmed multiple times this week, I think I am finally feeling as if I might be ready for the first day of school (tomorrow). Now don't ask if I am ready for the days that are after that, because that answer would most likely be no.
Almost every day this week we had a meeting for part of the day and then we spent the read of the time working in our rooms or on our own materials. This is with the exception of Tuesday which was spent working on just our content areas and talking about how we can make our classroom assessments better. I spent most of the week at the high school that is further from my house and out in the woods. I have been feeling a little more comfortable at this school and I'm not sure exactly why that is. The staff seems to be a little bit more cohesive, or at least the math department, and there is one teacher there who is close to my age and has kind of taken me in and helped me out quite a bit. I was at the other school on Thursday and while it was still a good day and I was able to get a lot done I ended up leaving feeling overwhelmed and terrified that I was going to screw so much up because of the fact that I'm balancing the two schools. I want to do what is best for the kids and only having me there every other day could get interesting. I think it will be fine, just an adjustment. I need to make sure that I stay organized, and on top of life!
Whether or not I'm truly ready for what I'm getting into, we shall see. I feel like I am ready for the first day (really 2 days since it is block scheduling). After that, I will need to do a lot more lesson planning and grading and go from there. Things will get busier and I will learn the true meaning of finding balance between work and "life". Considering I've been at school until 5 or 6 most of this week, I'm hoping to limit it to not too much later than that most nights, but we'll see. I also hope to not have to bring too much of my work home with me. These are all of my hopes and dreams, we'll see what reality has in store for me as the next few weeks play out.
Friday night the Woodgrove Wolverines had their first home football game and did amazingly! They won 52-7 and it was a good game! It was fun to go and watch the students play with a few new and a few veteran teachers. I will have mainly freshman and sophomores there but who knows, some of them might be football players and it is always good to show support!
Saturday I spent most of the day at school getting things ready and then came home and relaxed. I was hoping to go out for drinks with a friend but was fighting a migraine all day. Between stress, the crazy changes in weather/pressure, and my neck muscles fighting against me I ended up being stuck at home trying to calm myself down. I ended up taking some of my migraine medicine and sleeping. It was frustrating but I got a decent nights sleep and I felt a bit better in the morning.
Today I had an amazingly lazy day. I finished up stuff for school tomorrow and then just relaxed and watched tv shows, did my nails, made dinner (for the week), and tried to forget about how nervous (and terrified) I am about tomorrow. I know things are going to be fine. They are just students and I've been working in a high school for two years now and teaching math for even longer than that, but that doesn't make it any easier to get over the fact that I am now a "real" teacher and that I'm now the one in charge of these 115+ kids walking into my (5) classrooms. I think I'm capable and that I will be able to handle it, I know I have done a lot to get to this point.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Another church, More orientation, and lots of learning
It has been another long week, and while I am still feeling overwhelmed I'm doing my best to keep things in perspective and not worry too much.
Last Sunday I went to a local Presbyterian church and I was immediately welcomed. It was quite a different experience from the week before. When I came in one of the members walked me into the worship space and introduced me to a few other people who talked with me for a little while and invited me to sit with them through worship. The worship service itself was more contemporary and casual than most Presbyterian services I have been to but I really enjoyed it. The sermon was about David and Goliath and how we all face giants in our own lives and it all comes down to where we turn for support and strength to overcome those giants. It was a very applicable telling of the story and an eye-opening reminder that we can't do things by ourselves.
All week we had different types of orientation meetings. Everyday was different, and there was a lot to learn from each session.
Monday the new teachers met with the technology resource teacher and learned how to set our grade books up online as well as our classroom webpages and email and a bunch of other little things. In the afternoon we met with our mentors. It was awesome to finally meet with the person that I'll be working and meeting with regularly. We spent a few hours talking about first day of school procedures as well as what I am most nervous about and how to combat that. Then she drove me around the area that kids come from for that high school. One of the schools I am at is further away and out in the woods more. Some of those kids have to sit on the bus for close to 45 minutes. We drove to both sides of the region, and saw the extremes the giant houses that the very rich families live in and the small historic villages that are out by the farms. It gave me a good perspective for that school, and it helped me to compare it to the other high school I'm at which is right in the middle of a suburb and in neighborhoods where most students can walk to school.
Tuesday we had math standards training. This was especially helpful since I am coming from out of state. Learning about the state exams here and the standards that go with them was wonderful and the activities that we did were hands on and enjoyable. In the afternoon we were able to go back to our schools and work on our own. It was nice to finally have some time on my own to work on things for the first day of school. I met another math teacher who is close to my age and teaching geometry as well. It was really reassuring to hear from her experiences and get some materials from her. That evening I went out for dinner and drinks with another teacher that I had met on the first two days of new teacher orientation. It was nice to go out with someone to relax and talk with someone who would understand.
Wednesday was the first day with all of the staff back at school. We had an opening staff meeting to introduce ourselves to each other, hear about procedures and policies, and then after lunch we all went bowling as a team building exercise. It was great to meet other staff members and do something fun with them.
Thursday I went to the other high school so that I could try to split my time evenly. We had a meeting about unpacking standards and going into them with more detail. It was long and drawn out but helpful none the less. During lunch I was able to meet with the other math department staff and get to know them a bit more and get some materials from them which was really helpful. After lunch we had orientation for the students. They ran through their schedules and they were in each class for 3 minutes. This gave me the opportunity to meet two out of my five classes (all of the ones at that school). It was short and I didn't even have the time to be nervous beforehand. It was felt good to see kids though.
Friday was a full day of "classroom preparation" but since I don't have one classroom, I share 5 different ones I live in the workrooms at the two different schools and will move around on carts. I spent the morning at one school meeting with teachers to plan our first 9 weeks and to continue working on things for the first day of school. After lunch I went over to the other high school and had a meeting with the math department and talked with a few of the teachers there. I ended up staying until 6pm working on different things for the first day of school. It was super productive and felt good.
Today I went school supply shopping and got materials for my classrooms. I finished preparing a few things and made some sugar cookies (from a box from Wegmans!). It felt like a semi-productive day, despite not doing quite as much as I hoped for.
I'm still feeling overwhelmed but also know that I still have a whole week before students come. Physically my body is still adjusting to a school schedule of waking up early but that should become normal this week. Emotionally I'm still struggling with being alone most of the time and trying to figure out how to overcome that. I know as school starts and I have a routine that will get easier but right now it is difficult.
Last Sunday I went to a local Presbyterian church and I was immediately welcomed. It was quite a different experience from the week before. When I came in one of the members walked me into the worship space and introduced me to a few other people who talked with me for a little while and invited me to sit with them through worship. The worship service itself was more contemporary and casual than most Presbyterian services I have been to but I really enjoyed it. The sermon was about David and Goliath and how we all face giants in our own lives and it all comes down to where we turn for support and strength to overcome those giants. It was a very applicable telling of the story and an eye-opening reminder that we can't do things by ourselves.
All week we had different types of orientation meetings. Everyday was different, and there was a lot to learn from each session.
Monday the new teachers met with the technology resource teacher and learned how to set our grade books up online as well as our classroom webpages and email and a bunch of other little things. In the afternoon we met with our mentors. It was awesome to finally meet with the person that I'll be working and meeting with regularly. We spent a few hours talking about first day of school procedures as well as what I am most nervous about and how to combat that. Then she drove me around the area that kids come from for that high school. One of the schools I am at is further away and out in the woods more. Some of those kids have to sit on the bus for close to 45 minutes. We drove to both sides of the region, and saw the extremes the giant houses that the very rich families live in and the small historic villages that are out by the farms. It gave me a good perspective for that school, and it helped me to compare it to the other high school I'm at which is right in the middle of a suburb and in neighborhoods where most students can walk to school.
Tuesday we had math standards training. This was especially helpful since I am coming from out of state. Learning about the state exams here and the standards that go with them was wonderful and the activities that we did were hands on and enjoyable. In the afternoon we were able to go back to our schools and work on our own. It was nice to finally have some time on my own to work on things for the first day of school. I met another math teacher who is close to my age and teaching geometry as well. It was really reassuring to hear from her experiences and get some materials from her. That evening I went out for dinner and drinks with another teacher that I had met on the first two days of new teacher orientation. It was nice to go out with someone to relax and talk with someone who would understand.
Wednesday was the first day with all of the staff back at school. We had an opening staff meeting to introduce ourselves to each other, hear about procedures and policies, and then after lunch we all went bowling as a team building exercise. It was great to meet other staff members and do something fun with them.
Thursday I went to the other high school so that I could try to split my time evenly. We had a meeting about unpacking standards and going into them with more detail. It was long and drawn out but helpful none the less. During lunch I was able to meet with the other math department staff and get to know them a bit more and get some materials from them which was really helpful. After lunch we had orientation for the students. They ran through their schedules and they were in each class for 3 minutes. This gave me the opportunity to meet two out of my five classes (all of the ones at that school). It was short and I didn't even have the time to be nervous beforehand. It was felt good to see kids though.
Friday was a full day of "classroom preparation" but since I don't have one classroom, I share 5 different ones I live in the workrooms at the two different schools and will move around on carts. I spent the morning at one school meeting with teachers to plan our first 9 weeks and to continue working on things for the first day of school. After lunch I went over to the other high school and had a meeting with the math department and talked with a few of the teachers there. I ended up staying until 6pm working on different things for the first day of school. It was super productive and felt good.
Today I went school supply shopping and got materials for my classrooms. I finished preparing a few things and made some sugar cookies (from a box from Wegmans!). It felt like a semi-productive day, despite not doing quite as much as I hoped for.
I'm still feeling overwhelmed but also know that I still have a whole week before students come. Physically my body is still adjusting to a school schedule of waking up early but that should become normal this week. Emotionally I'm still struggling with being alone most of the time and trying to figure out how to overcome that. I know as school starts and I have a routine that will get easier but right now it is difficult.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
New Teacher Orientation
The past few days have been quite a whirlwind. I have come home exhausted and feeling a little overloaded with information. Each day was different, so I'll give you a short rundown of what they looked like.
Wednesday was our first day and it was meant for teachers new to the county without any experience teaching (beyond students teaching or subbing). So we came in, had a light breakfast (we all looked like the new kids at school in the cafeteria trying to figure out where to go and who to sit with), and then went and sat in the auditorium. We listened to a few speakers talk about the mentor program that the county has for us and then we met in groups with a bunch of the lead mentors in our schools. This was nice because we were able to at least meet one person in our school who we will work with and it lead to us meeting the other new teachers in our school. We spent about 2 hours in these groups talking about general procedures within the program. Then we had lunch, and about half an hour question and answer time with a panel of second year teachers. I really like this panel time. They answered the questions well and were able to ease some of our concerns since they were all close to our situation. After that the new teachers from each school went and met with their lead mentor again individually at their school. Since our school was a ways away (30 minutes) and we all lived closer to where we actually were, we decided to just go to Starbucks and talk there. So we went over more procedures and she was able to answer a lot of our questions about our school specifically. It was a really informal conversation which was nice.
By the time I got home around 3:45 I was exhausted! I had been awake since 6am and talking to people or listening to them since 7:40. It was a lot of good information and there was a lot that I needed to know. It made me feel better to start to ease into things.
Thursday was another day just for new teachers without experience. This was a little more content and classroom based than the day before. We had a small group session in the more about delivery of instruction where we were "re-taught" different strategies of instruction and teaching. Some of them were helpful to review, some of it was just a lot of review of "book-work" from college. After lunch we had a really great session on classroom management. The three women that led that session had some great ideas and just kept us engaged the whole time. Not to mention they put us at ease about the first few days of school and gave us some concrete ways to make them go smoother.
It was another long day and I was definitely tired by the end of it but I was encouraged after it. I had a positive outlook and despite information overload, most of it was good.
Friday was crazy! This was for all employees new to the county, whether they've been teaching for twenty years or just started. There had to be a couple hundred people, it was nuts! Anyway, when we showed up, there was a red carpet rolled out, all of the administrators from the most of the schools, and the cheerleaders from that specific high school were outside cheering for all of us as we entered the building. It was kind of awkward to say the least, but at the same time it was nice to feel appreciated. We spent the morning listening to presentations from different vendors and sponsors. They gave away a lot of door prizes and raffles which was kind of cool. After walking around the gym talking to some of the sponsors, the group from my school went to lunch. Then we headed back to our school and met with our assistant principals. We then went over the handbook quickly and talked about specific school procedures in more depth and got a tour of the school. I will be in three different classrooms for my three different classes at that school. It should be rather interesting.
I finally got home around 4:45 and was truly exhausted. We had gotten so much information in the afternoon that I know I won't remember when the time comes. Physically I was fine, although I did find out my b12 level is dangerously low to the lowest end of the "normal" range even with the monthly injections which is not fun. That might be accounting for why I'm feeling as tired as I am recently. Mentally I really was just feeling a bit overloaded, it's the only way to explain it. I just felt like I needed to shut down.
Today I took a little time to rejuvenate. I slept in until 8:30. It wasn't much but it was all my body would let me do. I had a lazy morning, just watched a few tv shows online and then I ran a bunch of errands and got things for the apartment that I needed and went grocery shopping. Then I made a delicious risotto for dinner because the recipe looked delicious and it seemed like a good idea to have real food around the house, even as left overs. Not to mention cooking felt good. The recipe is below.
Emotionally I'm in a weird spot. It's been nice to start meeting people who I'll be working with, at least some of the other new people in the school who are in the same boat as me. I also met another new teacher who lives close by to me and we are planning to get drinks sometime soon which will be nice if it happens. I'm trying to stay occupied because I've never been good at being alone and not over-thinking everything. I'm hoping that once I get into school I'll have more to do, or at least more to do with people. I'll be able to start planning lessons in a few days, I haven't been able to much because we do a lot of common planning and I need to talk to the other teachers that are teaching the same classes as me to see what is being taught when and how certain things are going to be taught so it has limited what I could do at night and on the weekends. I'm trying really hard not to miss home (Rochester), and everyone there, and the life I had built there but sometimes that is just really difficult.
Tomorrow I'm planning on going to a different church and seeing what it is like. Then I'm going shopping with my friend from high school. I need to get some more teacher clothes before the year starts. I'm hoping between retail therapy and being out with a good friend it should be a very good time! The rest of the week I'll be off and running with more orientation and training. The next two days are still for new hires and then the end of the week is for everyone. It will be a lot of professional development, curriculum, technology, and planning. I've got 2 weeks to get ready for kids!
Tomato and Sausage Risotto (Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Ingredients:
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbls olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic chopped (not in original recipe but I added it and enjoyed it)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4-6 oz. flat lead spinach (the recipe called for 10-14 oz. I used significantly less and liked it a lot better) wash well, removed touch stems, chop
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls butter
Wednesday was our first day and it was meant for teachers new to the county without any experience teaching (beyond students teaching or subbing). So we came in, had a light breakfast (we all looked like the new kids at school in the cafeteria trying to figure out where to go and who to sit with), and then went and sat in the auditorium. We listened to a few speakers talk about the mentor program that the county has for us and then we met in groups with a bunch of the lead mentors in our schools. This was nice because we were able to at least meet one person in our school who we will work with and it lead to us meeting the other new teachers in our school. We spent about 2 hours in these groups talking about general procedures within the program. Then we had lunch, and about half an hour question and answer time with a panel of second year teachers. I really like this panel time. They answered the questions well and were able to ease some of our concerns since they were all close to our situation. After that the new teachers from each school went and met with their lead mentor again individually at their school. Since our school was a ways away (30 minutes) and we all lived closer to where we actually were, we decided to just go to Starbucks and talk there. So we went over more procedures and she was able to answer a lot of our questions about our school specifically. It was a really informal conversation which was nice.
By the time I got home around 3:45 I was exhausted! I had been awake since 6am and talking to people or listening to them since 7:40. It was a lot of good information and there was a lot that I needed to know. It made me feel better to start to ease into things.
Thursday was another day just for new teachers without experience. This was a little more content and classroom based than the day before. We had a small group session in the more about delivery of instruction where we were "re-taught" different strategies of instruction and teaching. Some of them were helpful to review, some of it was just a lot of review of "book-work" from college. After lunch we had a really great session on classroom management. The three women that led that session had some great ideas and just kept us engaged the whole time. Not to mention they put us at ease about the first few days of school and gave us some concrete ways to make them go smoother.
It was another long day and I was definitely tired by the end of it but I was encouraged after it. I had a positive outlook and despite information overload, most of it was good.
Friday was crazy! This was for all employees new to the county, whether they've been teaching for twenty years or just started. There had to be a couple hundred people, it was nuts! Anyway, when we showed up, there was a red carpet rolled out, all of the administrators from the most of the schools, and the cheerleaders from that specific high school were outside cheering for all of us as we entered the building. It was kind of awkward to say the least, but at the same time it was nice to feel appreciated. We spent the morning listening to presentations from different vendors and sponsors. They gave away a lot of door prizes and raffles which was kind of cool. After walking around the gym talking to some of the sponsors, the group from my school went to lunch. Then we headed back to our school and met with our assistant principals. We then went over the handbook quickly and talked about specific school procedures in more depth and got a tour of the school. I will be in three different classrooms for my three different classes at that school. It should be rather interesting.
I finally got home around 4:45 and was truly exhausted. We had gotten so much information in the afternoon that I know I won't remember when the time comes. Physically I was fine, although I did find out my b12 level is dangerously low to the lowest end of the "normal" range even with the monthly injections which is not fun. That might be accounting for why I'm feeling as tired as I am recently. Mentally I really was just feeling a bit overloaded, it's the only way to explain it. I just felt like I needed to shut down.
Today I took a little time to rejuvenate. I slept in until 8:30. It wasn't much but it was all my body would let me do. I had a lazy morning, just watched a few tv shows online and then I ran a bunch of errands and got things for the apartment that I needed and went grocery shopping. Then I made a delicious risotto for dinner because the recipe looked delicious and it seemed like a good idea to have real food around the house, even as left overs. Not to mention cooking felt good. The recipe is below.
Emotionally I'm in a weird spot. It's been nice to start meeting people who I'll be working with, at least some of the other new people in the school who are in the same boat as me. I also met another new teacher who lives close by to me and we are planning to get drinks sometime soon which will be nice if it happens. I'm trying to stay occupied because I've never been good at being alone and not over-thinking everything. I'm hoping that once I get into school I'll have more to do, or at least more to do with people. I'll be able to start planning lessons in a few days, I haven't been able to much because we do a lot of common planning and I need to talk to the other teachers that are teaching the same classes as me to see what is being taught when and how certain things are going to be taught so it has limited what I could do at night and on the weekends. I'm trying really hard not to miss home (Rochester), and everyone there, and the life I had built there but sometimes that is just really difficult.
Tomorrow I'm planning on going to a different church and seeing what it is like. Then I'm going shopping with my friend from high school. I need to get some more teacher clothes before the year starts. I'm hoping between retail therapy and being out with a good friend it should be a very good time! The rest of the week I'll be off and running with more orientation and training. The next two days are still for new hires and then the end of the week is for everyone. It will be a lot of professional development, curriculum, technology, and planning. I've got 2 weeks to get ready for kids!
Tomato and Sausage Risotto (Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
Ingredients:
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbls olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic chopped (not in original recipe but I added it and enjoyed it)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio Rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4-6 oz. flat lead spinach (the recipe called for 10-14 oz. I used significantly less and liked it a lot better) wash well, removed touch stems, chop
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbls butter
Directions:
1.) In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (With their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2.) In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3.) Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4.) Add about 2 cups of the hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomator mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5.) Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired).
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Visiting a church and dealing with (more) car stuff
I visited a church Sunday morning in the area. It was rather large, especially compared to what I'm used to. Coming in I found a spot near other people and took a seat. I enjoyed the contemporary praise music quite a bit. It was very upbeat and engaged the congregation. The sermon was based on Colossians 3. This is about casting off your old self and turning away from sin and living your life as Christ has commanded. The pastor was engaging and was enjoyable to listen to but as he preached he focused on the sins and at no point taught on how we should live or the joyful part of the passage. It was a very interesting take of the passage. I know the sermon was part of a larger series so maybe there is more to come. After the sermon they served communion and baptized a group of people. There seemed to be a very loose order for worship and very little community building within the service.
After the service I spoke with one of the members in the guest reception area. She was very nice and seemed to be interested in who I was as a person and what I was interested in. She told me a bit about the church itself. They have two services each Sunday and average about 1500 people (which seems gigantic to me). They also have a 22-30 year old, young adult group that meets on Sunday mornings that I might check out if I visit again.
I had mixed feelings going in and had different mixed feelings leaving. I think I'll try a different church this weekend, just to see what else is out there. This church was a bit more conservative than what I am used to and quite large. I may be able to get over both of those things but I would need to find and become more comfortable in it as a community.
I spent most of Monday trying to fill out some forms for the DMV so that whenever I end up going they would be ready. I also sat at a Starbucks and worked on the beginning of my Algebra curriculum so that I at least had an idea of the material I'd be teaching in the beginning of the year and could get a few lesson plan ideas before I met with my mentor teacher and had time to plan.
Oh cars! Talk about mixed feelings! I've been having a love hate relationship with my car for the past month or so. I got the transmission fixed and finally picked it up a week before I left for Virginia. I spent that week in and out of the dealership again because the check engine light was on. They would make it go off and it would come back on again within 30-100 miles of driving it. Needless to say I was really frustrated. Well I made it to Virginia and it is driving fine but of course the check engine light is on and it needs to pass inspection (both safety and emissions). In order to do that my check engine light can't be on and the error code has to be cleared out of the system completely. Oh doesn't it figure! So after playing phone tag with the dealer in NY and a dealer here in VA, I brought my car in to get the light looked at and inspected. Well of course there was a little bit more wrong with it that needed to be fixed and then on top of that they are trying to get the dealer in NY to cover the cost of the parts that are needed to fix the thing for the check engine light (which won't be in for about a week). I'm so frustrated! I've spent basically the whole day sitting at the dealer. I know I need a car to get from point A to point B and that the state needs to make money somehow by forcing people to get inspections before registering their cars and everything like that, but this is ridiculous! The car seems to be running fine, it would be really nice if I could just go to the DMV, hand my paperwork in and be done with it.
Tomorrow is my first day of new teacher orientation. Needless to say I'm nervous beyond all understanding. I know I'll be fine and that I should just be super excited. In a lot of ways I am. I get the chance to meet other teachers who might be new to the area as well or at least new to teacher because they also don't have experience. But when it comes down to it, I'm really nervous about what I'm walking into. They haven't given us an agenda for what the day will look like or what to expect and I guess my type A personality is coming out a little bit in my desire to know what is coming. I'm sure it will be a good day and that I'll learn a lot. I'm trying to stay optimistic and not be scared or too introverted. We'll see what happens.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Learning to be okay alone
Since my parents left on Wednesday I've had a great deal of time alone. I knew that the first week here would be difficult but this is pretty tough.
Thursday I ran a few errands and worked on unpacking the last little bits of things around my apartment. It was good to go out and see a few of the areas around me. Finally being done unpacking made it feel a little more homey, and being able to share pictures of my place with friends online made it feel a bit more real.
Friday I was able to go out and get lunch and wander around a mall with my one friend in the area. She's a good friend from high school. Other than when she helped me unpack the truck, we hadn't seen each other since last summer, but during high school people used to joke that we shared a brain. We easily finished each others sentences and just shared life together. It felt like we picked up right where we left off yesterday which felt amazing. As we were talking we even had a few different experiences which were very similar, it was kind of weird. It was great to spend a few hours out of the apartment with someone so close to me and we even found some great deals! $5 cute Jelly shoes:
Thursday I ran a few errands and worked on unpacking the last little bits of things around my apartment. It was good to go out and see a few of the areas around me. Finally being done unpacking made it feel a little more homey, and being able to share pictures of my place with friends online made it feel a bit more real.
Friday I was able to go out and get lunch and wander around a mall with my one friend in the area. She's a good friend from high school. Other than when she helped me unpack the truck, we hadn't seen each other since last summer, but during high school people used to joke that we shared a brain. We easily finished each others sentences and just shared life together. It felt like we picked up right where we left off yesterday which felt amazing. As we were talking we even had a few different experiences which were very similar, it was kind of weird. It was great to spend a few hours out of the apartment with someone so close to me and we even found some great deals! $5 cute Jelly shoes:
Today (and the rest of this weekend) is when things are harder. My friend is out of town on vacation with her family so I don't know anyone here. I've never been very outgoing and I'm not really sure how to change that (any suggestions are welcomed!). I spent today at home. I started to look at my curriculum for school, which was a bit overwhelming. I wanted to try to be productive, but not knowing exactly where to start made it a little hard. I have ideas about some things but we'll see how it all comes together.
Tomorrow I've decided to find a church to try. I looked up a few online and found a couple that I think I'm going to visit in the next few weeks. I've been considering looking for a new church for a while, but I have mixed feelings about it. I've had bad experiences at churches. When I go to a church I'm looking for true community, people to be genuine, for things to not be a show but a real worship experience, and for the experience to be Christ centered. Too many times have I gone into church and found them to be shows set up for people, or just social gatherings that seem to have very little to do with God. I've been hurt before at churches and that is why I'm hesitant to try to go back. On the other hand I know that they can be very powerful places to build relationships and communities, not to mention strengthen my faith. I'm very nervous to go but I also know that I need to get out and see people this weekend and hopefully meet some new people.
I've spent the past few months unhappy with parts of my social situation, and now that I'm out of it, I definitely miss some aspects of it. I'm not sure if I am just missing having people around me or if it is the fact that I miss having options. I know it is important to learn to be okay on my own, and that this week will be a good learning experience for me but I'm not sure exactly how to do it. I definitely miss certain people and while talking with them online and on the phone has kept me sane the past few days it also makes me miss home. I know I have a lot to learn and that it is going to be a bumpy ride. I'm excited for what the next few days will hold. Once orientation starts on Wednesday I know I will at least be able to meet more people and we'll see where it goes from there.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Packing...Saying Goodbye..Moving... Unpacking
Well the past week and a half have been crazy to say the least. I have felt just about every emotion to say the least.
As I stepped into my last week in Rochester I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I had that I needed to pack, in addition to the number of people that I wanted to see and say goodbye to before I left. Each day seemed to get longer as I worked to fit things in. I was spending most days packing and then lunch and dinner out with different people to spend quality time with some important people and say goodbye to them. I was also stuck at the car dealership a few different mornings because my car was acting up after they had fixed it the week before. The packing was slowly coming along. I was trying to get everything done by Friday night since my parents were getting into town then and we were planning on packing the truck Saturday morning.
Many of my friends I made an effort to see individually with either lunches or dinners throughout the week. I enjoy personal, individual and genuine time with people. Thursday night I have a going away party with a group of friends. It was an interesting night for sure. I made a few appetizers and we just hung out for the night. It was a difficult evening for me in multiple ways. Watching everyone around plan the rest of their summer was really hard. I know life will go on in Rochester even when I'm gone, but it was difficult to watch things get planned, especially when it was things that I probably wouldn't have even gotten invited to in the first place. In a lot of ways it didn't feel much like a party, it wasn't really a celebration of my time there. I had a good night and it was nice to spend time with people. It was difficult to say goodbye to people, especially since I wasn't sure when I'd see most of them again.
Friday I had to go to the doctor and then tried to finish packing, and had dinner with my parents and family friends. Saturday we picked up the rental truck and then packed it up. As we drove away I had a really hard time not breaking down as I thought about what I was leaving. We drove down to Virginia, stopping at IKEA first and then went to the hotel for the night.
Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast and then I signed my lease and started unpacking the truck and moving into my new apartment. My good friend from high school lives close by and was will to help me unpack. My department head at one of my schools brought 2 of her sons and also helped up unpack the truck. We got everything into my apartment in about an hour which was pretty amazing! Once everything was in we sat and drank some water and then made a game plan. My mom, my friend from high school, and I went back to IKEA to get a few more little things while my Dad built some of the furniture that we had bought the day before. Once we got home we went out to dinner and then watched Olympics and relaxed.
Monday and Tuesday we spent building and unpacking. We went grocery shopping and got cleaning supplies and all of the little things that are needed for a new place. I found out I needed a new hot water heater so they put one in today. Luckily it was just a few phone calls and things were taken care of. Really it was pretty simple.
Today my parents left midday and I finally signed my contract. It was hard to say goodbye to my parents. They helped a lot the past few days and knowing I'm more alone now was also hard. I spent the afternoon and evening doing the last little bit of packing. I'm hoping to have the rest of the unpacking done tomorrow morning so that I can start looking at stuff for school and start getting ready for school. I still have to figure out DMV stuff as well. There is so much stuff that goes into moving, it is kind of ridiculous!
Next week I start new teacher orientation so we'll see how that all goes. I'm getting nervous about all of it, not to mention not knowing people or my way around. Thank goodness for GPS!! I'm getting to know the area around my apartment but there is so much around it will take a while.
As I stepped into my last week in Rochester I was overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I had that I needed to pack, in addition to the number of people that I wanted to see and say goodbye to before I left. Each day seemed to get longer as I worked to fit things in. I was spending most days packing and then lunch and dinner out with different people to spend quality time with some important people and say goodbye to them. I was also stuck at the car dealership a few different mornings because my car was acting up after they had fixed it the week before. The packing was slowly coming along. I was trying to get everything done by Friday night since my parents were getting into town then and we were planning on packing the truck Saturday morning.
Many of my friends I made an effort to see individually with either lunches or dinners throughout the week. I enjoy personal, individual and genuine time with people. Thursday night I have a going away party with a group of friends. It was an interesting night for sure. I made a few appetizers and we just hung out for the night. It was a difficult evening for me in multiple ways. Watching everyone around plan the rest of their summer was really hard. I know life will go on in Rochester even when I'm gone, but it was difficult to watch things get planned, especially when it was things that I probably wouldn't have even gotten invited to in the first place. In a lot of ways it didn't feel much like a party, it wasn't really a celebration of my time there. I had a good night and it was nice to spend time with people. It was difficult to say goodbye to people, especially since I wasn't sure when I'd see most of them again.
Friday I had to go to the doctor and then tried to finish packing, and had dinner with my parents and family friends. Saturday we picked up the rental truck and then packed it up. As we drove away I had a really hard time not breaking down as I thought about what I was leaving. We drove down to Virginia, stopping at IKEA first and then went to the hotel for the night.
Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast and then I signed my lease and started unpacking the truck and moving into my new apartment. My good friend from high school lives close by and was will to help me unpack. My department head at one of my schools brought 2 of her sons and also helped up unpack the truck. We got everything into my apartment in about an hour which was pretty amazing! Once everything was in we sat and drank some water and then made a game plan. My mom, my friend from high school, and I went back to IKEA to get a few more little things while my Dad built some of the furniture that we had bought the day before. Once we got home we went out to dinner and then watched Olympics and relaxed.
Monday and Tuesday we spent building and unpacking. We went grocery shopping and got cleaning supplies and all of the little things that are needed for a new place. I found out I needed a new hot water heater so they put one in today. Luckily it was just a few phone calls and things were taken care of. Really it was pretty simple.
Today my parents left midday and I finally signed my contract. It was hard to say goodbye to my parents. They helped a lot the past few days and knowing I'm more alone now was also hard. I spent the afternoon and evening doing the last little bit of packing. I'm hoping to have the rest of the unpacking done tomorrow morning so that I can start looking at stuff for school and start getting ready for school. I still have to figure out DMV stuff as well. There is so much stuff that goes into moving, it is kind of ridiculous!
Next week I start new teacher orientation so we'll see how that all goes. I'm getting nervous about all of it, not to mention not knowing people or my way around. Thank goodness for GPS!! I'm getting to know the area around my apartment but there is so much around it will take a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)