Friday, May 29, 2009

I'm Back!


A picture of me and my family (yes, Sara, you are family) at my credential "graduation".

Well, friends, I am back! After a long 11 months I am back. And it is good to be back. Should I bore you with the minute details of these last months? I can, you know…hello? Okay, I am not that cruel. Here it is, the condensed soup version: I completed my course work for the teaching specialist program at Cal State University, Fullerton. It was harder than I ever thought it would be, but it was also a wonderful experience. I went through the accelerated program so I could be done in two semesters. To complete this program you join a cohort and you are stuck in that cohort for the remainder of the program. Us Day-Blockers, as we called ourselves, saw each other more than we saw our own families. In fact, we spent so much time together we were our own little dysfunctional family; we loved each other and we hated each other. In fact two of our professors made that exact comment about our Day-Block; they could tell who got on whose nerves, who was the loud-mouth, who was the peacemaker, etc. But we made it through! Phew! Now all I have left is to pass a test, so keep those fingers crossed, the test is on June 13th.

And that pretty much covers my life in the recent past. It has been school, school, school, work, school, sleep, school, cry, school, try to exercise, school… and now I am totally in relax mode. I need to get off my lazy rear and start looking for work. Which, by the way, is the first question anyone asks you when you graduate: Do you have a job yet? Are you looking for a job now? … Ugh! Let me breathe for a second, or at least ask a more thoughtful question, like “What was the hardest part of the program?” “What was the best?” “Tell me about your student teaching experience.”  It seems like people are in such a rush to put me in a box for the future. I know that they are just being nice and asking the socially expected question, but seriously people, I barely finished a life-changing program, stop asking me about tomorrow as though what I just endured was not interesting. It was, I promise you, it really was. I have some great stories to share, some great info to pass on. So ask me about it now that I am still inspired before the cynicism sets it.

But to answer the question, am I looking for work? No, not right now. I’m taking a class this summer and I’m really excited about it. But, in short, this class has nothing to do with teaching. It is a class for me, for my creativity, for my need to learn about art. I don’t know what I expect to gain from this class, except maybe better perspective on my life and what path I would like to take. I know, I know, I just got my teaching credential, why on earth am I confused about what path I am taking next??? But if I understood myself well enough to make the obvious decision I would not be a 27 year old barely getting her teaching credential, I would be a 27 year old with a Masters degree on her way to getting her doctorate. I am learning to let the inner voice within have authority in my life, to trust that God is my provider, and to believe that my life here is temporal, and if I am willing, there is a grand adventure He is calling me to. I want to be willing, and I am working on that!

And friends did I mention that it is great to be back!