Eight Fears

After a chaotic day that began at 5:45am, and didn't end until close to 11pm, I am more than ready for a low-key day today. Luckily, all that I've had to do at work is scan a bunch of old pictures onto the computer for SRD's new website, so I've been able to do that while still taking some time to just aimlessly surf the web (and blog, of course).

As for yesterday, phew, what a day! I left Austin around 12:30pm, and I was making great time to Houston on a beautiful day. 

I was just about 45 minutes from home when I noticed that my air conditioning wasn't doing its job as efficiently as it was just a minute ago. I also started smelling a smell that I didn't think was normal for a car, so I will admit that I panicked a bit when I called my mom to tell her about my air conditioning. She told me to stop by the house so that we could switch cars - I could take her car up to Bellaire for my meeting, and she would take my car to the shop to get checked out. I knew I was making good time, so I decided to stop at a recent favorite restaurant - Salata - to pick up a quick late lunch.

I scarfed it down during my ten minutes spent at home, before getting in my mom's car to head to Bellaire for a 4:15pm meeting. As per usual, I was early for the meeting, but it allowed me some time to get gas, and to just stop and catch my breath. You guys know how I feel about tardiness, so it's much better that I was on the early side. I found the room right away, and talked with some of the teachers who were in my interview with me. 

The main goal of this meeting was just to get to know one another and briefly talk about the upcoming year before summer really gets going. I was jealous to hear about all of the fun and exciting trips many of my team members will be embarking upon, but, it's hard to complain about a summer in Austin! Anyway, we started out with introductions and icebreakers, and I quickly realized just how little experience I have compared to everyone else on my team. It overwhelmed me a little bit to think about how much there is for me to learn, but, my mom was quick to remind me that everyone has to start somewhere, and nothing good ever comes without a little bit (or a lot) of hard work. And, I know that my teammates will do whatever they can to help me. In fact, they are one of the reasons I wanted to be at Bellaire so badly. I really felt like I connected with the teachers in my interview, and because Bellaire is very big on team planning and collaboration, I knew that would have to be a deciding factor. So, though I do not yet know exactly what I will be teaching (Academic, College Prep, Reading, or Pre-AP), I know that my team will be available to help with whatever questions may pop up.

The next thing we discussed (and the part for which I was most excited) was the reading list. Though I did not always love (okay, nor did I always read) every book that was assigned to me, I always loved the thought of a new year and a new set of books to read. So, I was excited to learn what novels and short stories I would likely be teaching this year. Summer reading will be Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, which is easily one of my favorite trilogies, and some of the other pieces that are pretty much set in stone are The Odyssey, The Pearl, and Romeo and Juliet. With the exception of The Pearl, which I read in middle school, the other two were pieces that I read my freshman year of high school.

The other pieces will be decided upon soon, and I was probably a little bit too excited to take home my very own Teacher's Edition of the Literature textbook.

It was great to officially meet my new team, and I am excited to start thinking and planning for the upcoming year. I am definitely a planner, so it feels great to already have a meeting under my belt. At the very least, I can start reading some of the required texts, and think about how to make them come alive for my future students.

After my meeting, I made a quick trip home to touch base with my parents about my car, which wouldn't be ready until today, so I took my mom's car back to Austin with me last night. My sweet brother is going to meet me halfway between Houston and Austin to exchange cars with me - my family really is the best!

Eight Fears

And now for the third day of the Ten Day You Challenge. It’s ironic that some of my roommates and I were talking about our greatest fears the other night. When asked about my greatest fear, it didn’t take me much time to reply. So, without further ado, here are my eight fears.

Drowning

This one seems a bit ironic, given my love for swimming, but drowning, or more so the possibility of running out of oxygen underwater, is something that has always frightened me. When my parents were looking for houses, my dad said he couldn’t buy a house with a pool because he once woke up from a dream (nightmare?) that I was at the bottom of a pool and he couldn’t get to me. Valid fear, and I will probably be the same way.

Fires

These first two are very generic fears, but I think I have seen one too many Lifetime movies in which someone is simply watching a fire engulf a family member, and because I cannot even imagine what that must feel like, it goes high on my list of fears.

Something happening to a family member

Continuing on with the above fear, something happening to one of my family members is not something I constantly worry about, but it is definitely something that scares me. If I ever can’t get in contact with someone in my immediate family (which is a very rare occurrence), my brain goes into overdrive, immediately coming up with every possible horrible thing that could have happened to them. They just mean so much to me, and I would be so lost without them!

Escalators

Irrational, I know. But I’m still scared that the step will fall through, and that will be the end of me. At the very least, a shoelace could easily get stuck in between one of the steps. Yikes!

Not enjoying the moment I’m in

I’ve talked about this a bit on the blog recently, and it has also come up in conversation, especially with Dylan, because I have this habit of looking into the future instead of enjoying what is right in front of me that very day. I have a lot to look forward to this upcoming fall, but I also want to enjoy these last couple of months with my friends and roommates here in Austin, and not think about how hard it will be to leave and start this new chapter.

Cockroaches

I’m sorry, but I just don’t really understand why cockroaches were put on this Earth. They are disgusting creatures, and I will forever make someone else kill them for me.

Letting opportunities go to waste

One of my biggest fears is the failure to live up to my full potential, and not take advantages of all of the opportunities presented to me. But, at the same time, I don’t want to overload my plate, because I am really bad at saying no to things, because I worry too much about letting other people down. I have recently learned that I can’t please everyone, and that I have to do what is right for me.

One opportunity I'm glad I didn't pass up!

Cramped spaces

I have recently realized that being in a small space with a bunch of other people really stresses me out. I hate not having enough space to feel comfortable, so being stuck in a small space with too many other people sounds like a true nightmare.

Disclaimer: This post was a bit of a downer, and I promise I don’t worry about these things constantly, but as part of the Ten Day You Challenge, I had to share them, of course!

And with that, I'm about to finish up at SRD for the day and head to Gregory for an afternoon swim! See y'all tomorrow with some more Things I'm Loving!