Now What?

Five years and a couple of months after the LSU-Georgia game of 2003, I walked across a stage in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and received a degree, or at least a diploma cover (they give you the actually diploma after the ceremony).

I kept thinking of that football game, and how, when I made that decision, right there on the 40 yard line, to become a Tiger, I never imagined how fast it would go by.  I don't think I ever actually pictured the end ever getting here.  

I had a good bit of fun, and now, that part of my life is over.  It still hasn't completely sunken in yet.  It's strange to think that next time I go to Baton Rouge, it will be to pick up my things and leave forever.  I still feel like as soon as the Christmas season is over, and upon return from the Atlanta trip, I will be going back to the normal routine I have grown accustomed to.

But I won't. 

In two weeks, I will have a classroom of my own, and responsibilities I cannot yet imagine.  

Okay, I'll be honest, I'm not really sure I want to imagine them. 

It's also strange that right now, I don't really have any responsibility. I woke up this morning, finished It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, a book in which John Ed Bradley talks of emotions and uncertainties I am all too familiar with right now (except the whole football thing).  I then watched a little television, and finally left the house to fight Westbank traffic and run an errand for my mom.  I ended up at Starbucks.  After all, where else does one go when one has no responsibility.  I am finished Christmas shopping, and truly cannot afford to do any other shopping since I have no more income until that first pay check comes through next month. So I sit, and wait, and read.  Lots of reading.  I've got lots of catching up to do.  Out of fear of spending this money I do not have, I have banned myself from visiting the Sports, Biography, History, Children's, and Local sections of Barnes and Noble.  

This basically leaves self-help and fiction, which are not worth fighting crowds to explore.  This is not to say there aren't other sections at the BN, but those are the only other two I might possibly buy from, and frankly, I just don't feel like getting out to look through them.  

Call me a hermit.  

I will have no life this semester, which is probably a good thing, considering I have three different preps (meaning, I have to write and prepare lessons for three different classes). January 5th seems eerily closer than I would like for it to be.  I once was very excited about teaching, but I'm not so sure anymore.  

I want to write, I've always wanted to write, and eventually I will.  Now that I'm about to begin my career, I am more and more certain that I want to write, eventually to the point where I don't have to have a teaching career anymore.  

How certain am I though?  That's the scary part...  

So for now, I'm going with the career which fits my degree, and I will later go back and get more degrees, because lets face it, I love school and learning.   Once I have gotten into the swing of things, I fully intend to do part time school and keep this whole education thing going. 

Until then, I guess I will have to see if I fall back in love with teaching once I have a classroom of my own.  

So yeah, I've graduated, and I am fully in quarter-life crisis mode. 

I Guess I Should Show up for Graduation...

It's my last full day in the city for a while, and I am super sad.

I should be happy, seeing as how on Friday I get a college degree and all, but it seems anti-climactic since I am having to leave the place I want to live in order to get it.  I figured out that, at this point, if I hadn't found a job yet, I'd be going home, getting my car, and driving back up after Christmas to stay until I got on my feet.  

I am ready to move. 

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE New Orleans.  I love the random jazz bands on the street.  I love the river and the bridges that cross it.  I love the ferry.  I love the smell of whisky and beer mixed with humidity that permeates the air (and I don't even like whisky and beer, just that smell).  I love the broken sidewalks and the cast iron balconies.  I love Canal Street at Christmas.  I love streetcars.  I love St. Charles Avenue, any time of year.  I love the strange accent that has come about from the mixture of ancestries of that great city.  I love listening to those accents and trying to figure out what part of the city people are from.  

I love my family. 

But, even loving all of this stuff, I feel like I should be in New York.  This church family of mine has really gotten to me, and I am going to miss them like crazy, once again, until the next time I find time to come visit.  It won't be Mardi Gras, it won't be Spring Break, so who knows, it might not be until I move up here this summer (though the thought of waiting that long stabs me in the heart... I haven't gone that long since I was here that summer).  

Last night, I made one of my favorite memories of all time.  I'm pretty sure it tops the New York list of memories, and it's right up there with the random pre-Katrina Christmas snow on my list of winter memories.  Ashley and I decided, after both of us had  been wanting to for a while, to go up to the roof of the MNYBA building (this is where I lived when I was here, and where she lives now).  The snow, which had barely stuck to some of the cars on the street, had COATED the roof.  We got the idea to then start making snowballs and tossing them at unsuspecting objects below.  So, first we aimed and parked cars, then moving cars, then bikers, walkers, dogs, etc.... We never meant to actually hit people, but we liked to land them right in front of them and see their reaction.  Mackenzie came up and joined in on the fun.  We laughed for about an hour straight.  It made for an amusing way to come home.  

Today, I'm going to go out, enjoy the city, get some shopping done, show up at the Graffiti Christmas dinner with my best caroling voice ready to go, and walk around Alphabet City singing to strangers through restaurant windows and down the sidewalks of Tompkins Square Park.  

Then, I'm going to pack up, and hop on an early morning flight to go home to the place that made me who I am, and dream of the place that's changed my heart. , snow

Cooper Union and Starbucks

I am imagining that there cannot be much better in the world than sitting in Starbucks, looking out the window, listening to the Elizabethtown soundtrack, drinking a signature hot chocolate, and thinking of all the blessings in my life.

Day after day two summers ago I walked by the Cooper Union, and thought how funny it is that you can be sitting in one Starbucks, looking at the other one block away, and how, at one time, there was also a Barnes and Noble in view, which contained a cafe serving Starbucks coffee.  I guarantee you if you pump the blood of most New Yorkers, it contains 10% espresso.  

I've had a lot of time to think these past few days.  I've spent most of my time walking around aimlessly (literally, with no aim or direction), thinking and praying, and being thankful for the blessing this city has been on my life.  

It was here that I fell in love with Jesus all over again my freshman year, and discovered just how much I love serving him.  It's where I met many of my best friends, both from LSU and from NY.  It's where I found the joy that comes from teenagers, and where I learned that I thrive on lights and sounds.  New York City has had an unbelievable influence on my college years.  I, in fact, cannot imagine what my life would be like had I not come on that trip freshman year.  I'm not really sure I want to. 

Joy is truly the only word I can think of to use in describing how I feel when I am here.  I cannot wait to be here all the time.  Really.  

I love New Orleans, and I don't think there could possibly be a more unique and interesting place in all of America, but New York has gotten under my skin, and I don't see it leaving any time soon.  

City Love

I am once again, in New York, and wish I could be here for good.

I am in love with my church, and all of the things they do in the name of Jesus to reach the people of New York for him.  I am, as always, humbled by them.  

I came up with no plan, no places specifically to go, and I am loving the results.  I went to Connecticut for two days, and spent some time relaxing with the families who took me in this summer.  I forever thankful for those people in my life.  God has blessed me so much with families and friends all over this area, and their value in my life is indescribable.  For the two-and-a-half hour bus ride home, I relaxed and took in everything that was going on around me with some much needed thinking and prayer time.  I got a chance to refocus and prepare for the week ahead.  I haven't felt that blissful and relaxed in a while.  I-pod + warm scarf + sunset over New York City = a beautiful way to spend the afternoon. 

I came back from Connecticut, and immediately went to the Bowery to greet the LSU mission team, and to have dinner with them.  I have been pretty much nonstop since then.  After church today, we went ice skating with the youth, and I got to chaperone.  I cannot express the joy I get out of spending time with those youth, even if it gets to be stressful at times.  After wrangling them all up at the end of the night, we went back to Graffiti, waited around for parents, and then decided to go debrief.  So Christopher, the youth minister, and I, went to the Strand bookstore and enjoyed browsing one of New York's greatest shopping treasures - 18 miles of books.  We also explored the Union Square Holiday Market.  These are the kinds of days I look forward to whenever I am not here.  

I have no doubt, that even with no plans, the rest of my week will turn out just as eventful. 

Upcoming Adventure

I am two days away from being finished with school forever (well, until grad school at least).  This is a little scary but quite exciting.

I will check out on Wednesday, and in grand Danielle fashion, I am flying to New York Wednesday night.  I am hoping not to have to run off to NY all the time after this summer, because I will already be there :)  

I have been so busy it really doesn't feel like I'm going on a trip, but I am super excited about it as it is approaching.  Now I only have to get started on that packing (see below...) and find out where I'm going to get enough spending money.  

The weather report predicts lots of snow in Connecticut, where I will be on Thursday through Saturday.  Snow is something new and interesting for me, so I am super excited!  The Laws have warned me that there will be lots and lots of it...  

I am also, of course, thrilled to be going to see my Graffiti family.  I miss them like crazy.  I can't wait to be around them all the time.  I am staying with Ashley in my old MNYBA apartment, so that will be lots of fun too!  

I really am going to be sad to leave my kiddos, but I am ready for the next adventure. 

Pack Your Suitcase

When I was younger, I loved to pack

I loved the excitement of figuring out what I needed to bring along for whatever journey I was about to embark upon.  Whether it be a mission trip to Maryland, or a family trip to Bay St. Louis, I loved to pack. 

After a summer of living out of a suitcase, and four and a half years of never staying in the same place for more than a few weeks, I am tired of packing.  I'm tired of loading everything I can think of into a bag, knowing that I'm going to forget something, only to have to unpack it all again a few days later. 

Don't get me wrong, I still love to travel.  I love being in a different place for a little while, and the adventures that come along with that.  The problem is, I don't get as excited about the packing part anymore.  I should be , but I don't.  Maybe I've gotten to used to traveling and it's lost some of its flair.  This makes me sad.  

Maybe its because I hate to plan, and packing involves planning.  I often do not pack, for this very reason.  I go out of town with a laundry bag, in hopes that I might find a place to do laundry and wear whatever happens to be in the bag.  

This is basically what I'm doing for my vacation to New Orleans / South Mississippi this week.  

I really hate to pack.  If you can't tell, I'm procrastinating because I should be packing, right now. 

Yay for an income!

I have a job.

A real, big girl job.

I am going to be teaching in Westwego next semester.  It should make for an interesting and exciting experience.  

Once again, God has provided in a time when I had a great need.  He's pretty good about that :)  

Though the Human Resources people couldn't tell me what grade level and subject I have, I know I am going to be in middle school social studies, so it should be lots of fun.  Isn't it amazing how things can all fall into place?  

So here I come world, one semester in Westwego, then it's off to New York, now that I know I will be able to set aside some cash for a move.  

Apparently, the Catholics Love Me

Turns out, BOTH of my job interviews were with Catholic schools.

Idiot me had a miscommunication with the Saint Charles people, and it was in fact, a St. Charles Catholic school. 

From what I heard in both interviews, the guy from the Archdiocese that I interviewed with thought I was AMAZING, and not only sent out my resume, but called each school to recommend me.  Both interviews went very well. Not to brag, but I'm pretty good at charming people in authority...  One of those talents I've always had...  

Problem.

Neither school has January openings, and I still haven't heard from any of the public schools I've applied with. So please be praying that something comes along in that area.  If not, I have decided to sub in Belle Chasse, because they are apparently desperate for substitute teachers.  

"Welcome to the real world," she said to me, condescendingly

I have two job interviews tomorrow.

That's right, two.

I also got a call from a school in LaPlace that wants me to teach Reading, but that's going to probably be a no.  

So yes, this whole "real world" thing is starting to hit me.  I feel completely unprepared for what is to come. I am also facing the fact that I will have to decide between multiple options should a job offer actually arise.  I got three calls in two hours, so I am pretty sure that they can't be all that I will hear from.  

So, lets just say my interview with St. Cletus goes well and they offer me a job.  GREAT.  Working right down the street, what could be more convenient?  But the thing is, they don't pay very well, being a Catholic school and all.  What happens if I accept their offer, then two days later get a call from Jefferson Parish or Plaquemines Parish and THEY want to interview me and offer me a job.  What then?  Both of them pay about 10,000 dollars more per year than St. Cletus.  That's A LOT of money to turn down, especially when I am trying to save up to move to NYC.  

So yeah, please be in prayer as I face these sorts of decisions.  This is the real world, and it's scary and big and exciting and fun all at the same time.  

Nearing the End

So I've skipped several weeks in my attempt to keep the world, or the two people who read this, updated on what is going on with my student-teaching.  Not that you are all desperately concerned, but I'd like to think that my effort to procrastinate will help you in yours.

I can't say that I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Though my kids are WONDERFUL, I have just now, three weeks before the end, begun to feel like I am prepared for the day when I show up.  I used to wake up each morning with a queasy feeling that wouldn't go away until I knew I had done everything right and the day would go smoothly.  Then, if ANYTHING at all would happen to make me think otherwise, the rest of my day would be ruined.  

I am ready for a classroom of my own.  One where, if I screw up, the only one who has to know about it is me.  I have become an expert at covering up screw-ups over the years.  I have also learned many ways to prevent said screw-ups from happening, and the past week has felt like a whole new ball game.  

As ready as I will be for an escape from Westdale Jail, and live in the grande beauty of the NOLA again, I am going to miss those kids like crazy.  They have been amazing!  I teach the most wonderful 7th graders.  Every day, their sweet faces warm my heart no matter how rough things are.  As easy as it will be to leave, it will be equally hard to leave those kids :)  

I am truly blessed, even when I feel stressed... 

Overly Enthusiastic History Teacher??!!

Today my teacher told me I was TOO excited when teaching, and that not all of it is that exciting.  yeah, I don't really know how to take that.

I am one of those excessively dramatic people.  The exact wording was that I "perform" too much, but I have been "performing" my entire life and it's just made its way into my personality when I'm telling stories.  Not so sure how to fix that one!  I personally would have loved it if my history teachers would have been a little more excited about what they were teaching me.  

That is all....

Back to School, Back to School

After a week-and-a-half of waiting, I am once again, up at 5am preparing for a big day in the "real world."  Unfortunately, this is not enough real world to actually get paid for, even though I am doing more work than I will probably ever do as a paid teacher.

Over the past few weeks though, I've gotten the great opportunity to see just how much God has blessed me and my family.  Once again, though Baton Rouge has some severe damage in some places, my family and I were protected through a rough storm.  If postponing a no-name football game is the only sacrifice that had to be made, then I guess we came out okay.  During the time "off,"  I was able to catch up with some friends I don't get to see often, and watch the Red Sox play for the second time this season.  I'd call that blessing. 

We were then told that we probably wouldn't get to start interacting with students again until the 15th, which broke my heart.  We knew we'd have to report to school today, but the kids wouldn't be around until at least Monday.  This is bad, very bad, for those of us who have to log x-amount of hours in front of a class.  Then, the news reported last night that my school would be reopening on Thursday!  

In the midst of the extra couple of days "off" I got,  I took the opportunity to catch up on my running and biking, you know, get back into the routine after my week hiatus in Shreveport.  Last night, I was in the middle of one of those really really rediculously great runs, clear mind, good pace, etc...  I stopped to do some arm workouts on the big steps downtown that go from the top of the levee to the river, and to get some water at one of those nasty water-fountains.  Upon the start of my return run, I realized that my car key was not in my key pocket.  I frantically searched all over the area, thinking it must have fallen out while I was doing dips or something, but it was nowhere to be found.  So on the 3.5 mile return run, I kept my eyes on the ground, and thought of the extra distance I was going to have to run home to use the phone if my car-key was not around, and how angry my parents would be that they would have to drive to Baton Rouge to bring the spare.  About 1/4 mile before the end, there was my key, shining on the pathway, in the most obscure of places.  What a blessing.  It really helped me to refocus, and realize how amazing God's grace is.  

And Still, I sit

Friday morning, I woke up having never seen Josh Beckett in person.  Friday night, I went to bed having been only feet away from him a few hours earlier.

First thing Friday morning, KenyB and I drove to Dallas, and I convinced him to park his car so we could take the train into the city.  I hate to go to a big city without experiencing their public transportation systems (it's just one of my things).  Kenneth of course, hated this idea, but somehow he got by.  

Upon our arrival in the downtown are, we went directly to the only tourist attraction in the DFW area I've ever cared to see: Dealy Plaza.  Now forty-seven years ago, Dealy Plaza would have been just another park in a big city, but now, it is the site of one of my favorite historical events to study: The Kennedy Assassination.  For those who know me well, you know that I am ALL ABOUT Cold War America when it comes to history, so this was one of those places I absolutely had to visit.  

From there, we met up with Justin and fought traffic all the way up until fifteen minutes before gametime, when we FINALLY made it to The Ballpark at Arlington.  I then got the chance to see my favorite team for the second time this summer, only this time Beckett was pitching and we actually won!

Anyway, I am now back in the BR and it is a sad town.  Trees and power lines are down EVERYWHERE.  Some of my friends are not expected to have power for at least another TWENTY days, yes, twenty.  I feel very blessed to be in the part of town with underground power, and no trees in my yard.  As a result of this EBR Schools are cancelled until the 15th, and teachers don't have to report until the 10th, so I am taking in a couple of more days off.  Maybe I'll get around to organizing my room finally...  

I had a great run this morning, and I was once again reminded of just how much I love to run down the levee on a warm day.  I feel so fortunate to have grown up on the banks of the Mississippi, and to have had the chance to admire it every day.  It is one of the things I will miss most when I move for good.  For now, I'm going to enjoy my next few days off with a little extra running and biking time.  

Gustavin' It

School has been cancelled all week, and I have found myself missing early mornings and colonial America.

I've spent the last four days in Shreveport and Ruston with my favorite family aside from my own.  Laura and I have had a great time catching up (even if KTBS does take up most of her time), and we've enjoyed great movies and well-overdue bonding time.  Friday night, Kenneth and I are driving to Arlington to hang out with Justin Wooley for the night, and watch the Red Sox inch themselves closer to leading the division under the pitching skills of a returning Josh Beckett.  This, of course, I am pretty stoked about. 

Unfortunately, due to the wrath Gustav incurred upon my beloved campus and city, there is no Saturday Night Football in Tiger Stadium this week.  I am hoping, however, that upon my return to the BR, the electricity at everyone's houses will be fully restored and we will be able to reunite while watching other teams play in HD.  

The prayer is that East Baton Rouge Parish Schools will be back in session on Monday, so I can be back into routine, and so my graduation isn't delayed or anything....

Tales from the Classroom

A couple of quotes from my students:

When talking about Benjamin Franklin:

Student 1:  "Didn't he get shot or something?"

Student 2: "No, you're talking about Tupac."

When looking at a slide of Enlightenment thinkers: 

A Day Class: "Those dudes all got long noses,"  say's one student.  "Yeah, they lookin' like Snoop Dogg." (points at Voltaire...)

B Day Class: "Dude, that guy looks like Snoop Dogg!" (Once again, looks like Snoop Dogg)

Back to the Grind

After a weekend in Boston, a night in Fenway Park, a flight home, a couple of days in New Orleans , a LONG DRIVE through Texas, a week in New Mexico, another LONG DRIVE through Texas, an overnight trip to Florida, and a couple more days in New Orleans, I am BACK.

I am in the BR for the homestretch, and am excited about what is to come of it all.  In less than a week, football season will be in full swing, and I will be in a day-in, day-out routine of getting up at 5am, getting home at 4, and enjoying 7th grade gifted students and all that entails.  

I'm pretty excited about this coming semester.  I found some old books from my US Colonial-1865 class, along with some history books I read for fun from that same period.  I FINALLY have my room set up, and, after numerous trips to the Apple store to drool, I got the new computer I've been dreaming of.  

This semester is going to be challenging.  In the week I've been in Baton Rouge, I've already faced some minor setbacks that lead me to believe the upcoming few months will be full of them.  I took a couple of weeks off of running when I got back into the South, and as soon as I started back, something odd happened with my foot (possibly a pulled muscle?) and I've been unable to do so since.  I think my foot is getting better, but I'm gonna stick with the bike until I know.  This has caused a "swelling" of my legs and waist to a point that I have not been familiar with for a LONG time.  

So tomorrow, it all starts, and Tuesday, I am in the classroom for good.  The future is here, and I'm pretty excited about it.  

Home Away From Home

Sunday night, I went to New York.

Bible Study was cancelled, and Mondays are pretty free, so I decided to drive the back-roads to New Haven and take the Metro-North into the city. Chelsea was kind enough to accomodate for me last minute by letting me stay on her couch, even though she already had a guest in town. I had the opportunity to have coffee and go shopping with Ema, my supervisor from last summer, at the same Starbucks where we parted ways last July. We then went to my pastor's house where my friend Ashley was housesitting. It was wonderful just sitting around the living room and catching up with two of my favorite people, and feeling so at home. Ashley and I then went to dinner at Max Brenner, and ordered the amazing tutti fruitti waffles (probably my favorite dinner in the world... if you can call it dinner). I felt like I had never left. This trip was a definite necessity. They almost convinced me to come back next week and help with the kid's program, which I willingly volunteered to do and very plausibly could have accomplished (with the help of people back home who would pay for my plane ticket back to New Orleans), but I decided it's definitely time to get back and get things settled in the BR. I will have many many more chances to help out at Graffiti in the future.

Yesterday I drove four youth up to Boston for the day. After some last minute changes of plans, we ended up having a successful day in the city. I absolutely adore Boston, and am looking forward to being there againt his weekend for debriefing (even though sadly it means I will be saying goodbye). The kids really seemed to enjoy it. I brought along someone from the church who goes to school up there to help us get around and show us some of the "insider" things in Boston, which he willingly did. It was great to see these kids enjoy things like their first subway ride, and their first taste of Indian food (mmmmm!), along with educating them in pop-culture history (two of them had never heard of Cheers!). Through this trip, God definitely showed me how things that dont necessarily go the way they were planned can still turn out to be a great experience.

While in Boston, I recieved an email telling me my student-teaching placement. I am going to be at Westdale Middle School teaching with Mrs. Davidson. From what I gathered, I think it will be the first half of US History (yay!). So walking around Boston, it was quite neat to be observing sites I was going to be teaching about in just a month or so! Though the EBR schools system's early start date may prevent me from going to New Mexico next week (I am working on getting another place to observe the first-day-of-school), I am thoroughly excited about going back at the end of August to be there full time for the next four months.

Pretty much, Wow

So this summer I have not been in "the city" much at all. Minus three days in Boston, a week in Providence, and a day-trip to my heart (aka, NY), I've spent most of my time in the suburbs, and in the country. Far cry from my normal "city girl" lifestyle, but fun and interesting nonetheless.

I am currently living in the basement room at a very cute old fashioned New England home, with a great family, in Hebron, CT. It's very different for me, but I'm loving it. We have a great youth group, and despite the fact that I'm only here for a short time, we've been having alot of fun throwing together events at the last minute to keep the kids occupied.

Last week we went to camp in Massachusetts, and I think I got just as much out of it (if not more) than my students did. We brought thirteen youth, and where I come from, that would fit into the smaller group category at camp. Because of the nature of New England, we were actually the average. There just aren't alot of Christians up here (approx. 1% of the population), and it's truly sad. I thoroughly enjoyed the company of the 444 people there, and the speaker was absolutely amazing. I hope to be a part of that camp again sometime. It is put on every year specifically for students in New England. They require a bit of a different focus than many of the typical Bible-belt camps students go to.

Over the next year of my life, I have many decisions to make. At camp I really felt like God was making some of those decisions clear to me, so I will be spending the next several months preparing to accomodate for said decisions. This is why I decided to start blogging again. I will also be student teaching, and then (hopefully) in January, being a teacher full-time, so I'm sure there will be many adventures to speak of and many prayers to request. I hope to keep up, because I have a habit of getting out of the habit...

This is why I need to do something with my life

Yesterday I took the Praxis II. Sitting through three tests in one day for a total of four hours of testing, and about three hours of waiting outside the building, is rough. Throughout my testing experience (which did NOT go as well as planned), I kept finding myself wondering how on Earth we can let the best and brighetest students in the EBR school system go to a school as run down as Baton Rouge Magnet?

In my observations in the past two years, I've gone to Woodlawn (which has a brand new building), McKinley Middle (also brand new building), U-High (which speaks for itself), and Broadmoor. From my experiences in those schools, I just assumed EBR was on top of its game with keeping the schools aesthetically pleasing for students. Boy was I ever wrong.

At Baton Rough High, I kept finding myself distracted from the test by the loud air conditioners and the numerous paint chips pointlessly hanging from the wall. I left absolutely miserable, not as much from the test, as from the dark lighting and poor overall aesthetic value of the environment. How can we expect our students to excel when this is what they have to sit through every single day? If BR High is where we are sending our BEST students, I can't imagine what the buildings for some of our "lesser-valued" schools are like. And we wonder why our school system isn't getting any better.

I realize now more than ever the importance of the Paint the Town project in NYC, and am very proud to have been a part of that, but I can't help but wonder what can be done about this problem in the schools here in Louisiana. Belle Chasse was no Taj Mahal, but at least we kept it clean and gave it a paint job every so often. I couldn't tell you from looking at it if Baton Rouge High has EVER had a makeover. Now I know they've talked of tearing this building down and starting from scratch, but it's not the building itself that's a problem. The building is an historic landmark which, just like all other landmarks, should be preserved, only I think with more urgency, considering its purpose.

My new goal for the next year of my life (before I move to another part of the country that is...) is to find a way to get involved with fixing up schools here in Louisiana. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

New England Here I Come

I am officially arriving in Boston at 1:45 pm on June 1st! How exciting! I'm a hoping to grow even more this summer, after seeing all of the amazing things God can do through summer missions.

According to the missions coordinator, there is a good chance I will be working in more than Providence alone. I'm pretty excited about getting to explore New England doing the work God has laid out for me. It's going to be super interesting to see the need in an area that is often forgotten in the world of Christian outreach. It's great to go to the ends of the Earth, but we also need to remember the problems we have in our own backyard. America has many needs and I am excited to have the opportunity once again to help meet them.

Less than a month to go

It's amazing how one group of people can really get under your skin.

I miss Graffiti and the people there SEAUX much I cannot express.

Last semester, I missed them, an the city, but I had football to distract me and remind me of how wonderful it is to be in South Louisiana in the fall. This semester on the other hand, I am spending my week wishing more than anything that I could just graduate and move up North already! GRRR I cannot wait!

In less than one month, I get to go visit for a week, which I guess will have to do for now. I am pretty excited, considering Charlotte, Ashley, and I are all visiting at once. Leaving is always the hard part though. At least when I get back I will have Easter crawfish waiting for me.

It's been a while

Having not posted anything since the beginning of football season, I have opted to begin writing again in preparation for a possible summer in another city: Providence, Rhode Island.

Considering I haven't put anything up in a while, I'm not expecting that anyone will be reading this, but just out of pure love of writing, I am going to start again.

Now that football season is over, and we have clinched the title, I have much more free time. My fall was spent roaming about the Southeast watching battle after battle, with the emotional ups and downs that go with it. I blame my grey hair on Fall 2007.

This being my last semester before student teaching, I am in the most interesting classes I've gotten around to taking since college began. It makes me very thankful that I picked up the double major. My political science classes keep me intrigued, and my American Folklore class is sparking ideas for amazing things I can use in my lessons later in life. All of this has helped me realize that I am not in fact as lazy as I make yself out to be, and that I want to go as far as possible with my education so that I can gain the knowledge and connections necessary to fulfill my goals in pushing education reform. Right now I don't really know what that entails, but I see myself learning more about it each day, and I get excited!

Help me stay driven... This feeling tends to fade as the semester goes on.