KHAM

August 28, 2024

High

My high for the summer is really that I did as little as possible. I know I said that on the first day, but it bears repeating. Last year was really, really rough for me–both in school and personally–and I feel like I just needed the year to end so that I could light it on fire. I went to the two required trainings I had to go to and I went to TWU with LULAC (and I really, really enjoyed myself on that trip!), but after that, I didn't do anything really worthwhile, which I guess was worthwhile since that's what I set out to do lol. I did try a spin class for the first time and I LOVED it. It's dark and loud and no one can see if you're keeping up with the group (well, except I accidentally bought glow-in-the-dark shoes, but that's a story for another time) and, at one point, I looked up at the mirrored wall and saw everyone doing the same thing at the same time and I thought "This is how they get people to join cults." I've taken a couple weeks off from workout classes to get prepared for the school year, but I'm looking forward to going back.

Low

That brings me to my low, which is that I did as little as possible. I know, I know. But I've had to dedicate a lot of time after school to planning and it's all stuff I could have done over the summer, but chose not to. As first period saw on Monday, I feel SO CHAOTIC when things aren't planned and ready to go. Part of the chaos was that I didn't close out the week last week because we were at PC Cobb and part of that chaos was that I never bothered to learn how to use the PaperCut system to send stuff to be printed on the copiers in the office. Ms Loya tried to help me on Monday and I didn't have the right app downloaded. #meltingfaceemoji It was so embarrassing. So I'm glad I did nothing, but I wish I had done something, you know?

Who the Heck Knows

This year I think I'm just anxious, which I know is not descriptive or helpful. This is my twentieth year as a teacher–which is kind of a big deal because the average career of a public school teacher in the United States is three-to-five years–and I feel like I should feel something other than anxiety. But last year was honestly one of the roughest I've experienced and it was NOT it. I want to avoid a lot of the things that made my year so rough (though a few of those things are completely out of my control and all I can do is manage my reaction in a different way), but what if the year was so bad because I'm just…bad? I know that's not true, but sometimes it's hard to remember the good when you're stuck in the bad. There's a line from an Indigo Girls song (it was in the Barbie movie when she drove to the Real World) that I think of a lot: darkness has a hunger that's insatiable and lightness has a call that's hard to hear. So this year, I really want to hear the light, and I just realized that maybe it's harder for me to hear because I'm seriously hearing impaired and I hardly ever wore my hearing aids because I didn't get them until January. Noted, Universe. Noted.

Supply List:

Please bring a pack of 3x5 lined notecards. You will bring them to me and I will give them back to you each week for vocabulary.

I will also take boxes of kleenex (rectangle boxes preferred) and cleaning wipes.

Extra Credit:

If you bring more than one pack of 3x5 lined notecards, I will give you extra credit. If you bring colored notecards (especially sophomores), I will give you extra credit.

You can also bring coffee pods (keurig), creamer (in the little individual packets or the powdered kind), sweetener (packets preferred), and cups. I have linked the instructions for using extra credit.