First Day at Westwood

Let's just pretend that I was proactive and got this posted yesterday, because not only do I have my exciting first day at Westwood to share with you guys, but I also have the usual workout and food-related posts as well. I know, finally some degree of normalcy around here. I don't think I realized just how crazy this semester is going to be until yesterday when I realized that every day of the week (except for Thursdays) there is something besides class on my agenda. I just need to take a deep breath and realize that I will indeed survive it, and worrying about it is not going to aid my productivity in any way.

With that being said, let's move on to the first day of school. So, Tuesday night I was a bit anxious because we still had not received clearance for our background checks with Round Rock Independent School District. However, I fully intended to visit my school on Wednesday afternoon, so I went to bed praying that we would somehow be cleared within the next 12 hours. I kept my phone close to me all morning, and around 8:15am I received an email saying we had gotten the all clear, and that we were good to begin our internships. 

I went to my 9:00am class feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, because, if you know me at all, you know that I hate looking at a long-term calendar, seeing all that I will have to do throughout that time, and not being able to start any of it. Plus, it's hard hearing that other people had begun their observations, knowing that I hadn't had the opportunity go to yet. After class I biked home and started getting ready to go to the school for the first time, and I also stumbled upon this sweet note and first day present on my bed. Sarah is the best!

Going back to my high school ways, I had picked out my outfit the night before, as well as gathered all of my papers and supplies together - I was clearly hopeful about being cleared before I needed to leave! I finished getting ready relatively quickly, and it was nowhere near time to leave, so I sat down and tried to work on a short essay assignment. My head was clearly not with me, so I didn't get too much of it done before deciding that it was an acceptable time to leave. You have probably gathered that I am a very timely person, so I did not want to even come close to being late, especially since I didn't know exactly where I would park, nor did I know how the check-in procedure worked.

I ended up leaving my house around 11:50am (but not before making one of my roommates take a "first day of school" picture for the blog), and made it over to Westwood in surprisingly excellent time. I hit absolutely no traffic, so I sat in my car eating the lunch I had packed, waiting until I thought it was acceptable to go inside the school.

I checked in at the office, got directions to my cooperating teacher's room - this school is HUGE, by the way - and I was finally able to introduce myself to my teacher. My first impressions of both her and her classroom were great. Her classroom is warm, welcoming, and motivational, and I think my teacher and I are going to get along really well. She is young, knowledgeable, and as this is both her first time teaching sophomore English and having a student intern, it's going to be a learning experience for the both of us. She seems to be very open in regards to having me there in her classroom, which is a very good feeling. I will be with two Pre-AP/IB classes, and two on-level classes, and I'm really excited about both of them. Westwood is on the block schedule, meaning I will have Pre-AP classes one week, and the on-level classes the most. Her Pre-AP class is currently reading William Golding's Lord of The Flies, and her on-level class is currently reading John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Though I have read both of those novels previously, it has been quite some time, and I will admit that I didn't really care for either novel the first time, so it might be worth my while to re-read them (in all of my spare time).

To begin with, I will be going to the school on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, though that will probably be reduced to just Mondays and Wednesdays. I feel as though it's better to get as many hours up front as possible, than to be stressed and scrambling at the end of the semester.

After I left school, I went home and changed into Nike shorts and a tanktop and drove over to Mt. Bonnell for a little incline training. I am leaving for San Francisco four weeks from today, and the San Francisco hills still have me a little bit nervous. I think I accomplished what I went to do, because my calves are certainly feeling it today. I ran up and (walked) down the 100-something steps ten times before returning to the Clubhouse so Sarah and I could drive over to Town Lake for our first Wednesday Walk of the year.

If you have to do incline training, this isn't a bad view to have while doing it

The rest of the evening was dedicated to the ever-present homework and reading assignments, but I managed to get to bed early enough so that waking up early before class to swim didn't make me want to crawl right back into bed. I swam a mile and a half before returning to the Clubhouse, sending out a few emails, and eating a delicious and filling breakfast of scrambled egg whites with spinach, a side of sliced strawberries, as well as an unpictured plumcot.

That breakfast was followed by a full day of class, which will be followed by some serious reading and another Thursday night new restaurant adventure with Dylan. Not a bad Thursday!