Now, I should preface this by saying, I don't tell these stories just so that you will think I am cool. In fact, most of the time if you were to pay me a compliment, I would probably laugh in your face, or better yet, make you laugh at how I turned down the compliment. I'm not a very good compliment getter... which is totally an adjective by the way.
SOOOOO, there aren't many things in life I am good at. The super athletic gene skipped my zygote (if you don't know what that is, you obviously know nothing about biology...and if you know me you know why this is funny) and I'm not what you would call the sharpest pencil in the box.
But the one thing that I am good at is teaching.
I don't know how many times I have had the spirit confirm to me that I am in the correct profession for my talents. It seems like almost every day I have experiences that just give me a spiritual high five or a holy ghost pat on the back (which feels much like nothing at all, but you know it when it happens, trust me)
TWO EXPERIENCES:
Today I walked into a middle school that I sub at quite often and had one of the paraprofessionals assigned to the deaf educations students hollar after me. 'Miss Mac! Who are you subbing for? Bushman?' 'No I'm in Coffland's class.' 'Dang it!' was her reply...I just love that!
On Friday I was at a high school I have started to sub at recently that I love. I was in a Spanish class and I was really excited about subbing in my major...until I read the lesson plans and saw that they were pretty lame and that the kids would be done ridiculously early with what they were supposed to be doing. I had been handling it all day, but by seventh period I was alright with the kids finishing the assignment and talking quietly with each other. As I was monitoring the room, I started talking with a particular student who would not stop cursing. Not to be rude or anything, he was just talking like he normally would and didn't even realize that he was cursing.
I stopped him and started talking to him about what an awful habit that was. I asked him if he had planned on speaking like that when he had a full time job and was working in an office. He replied that he didn't want to work in an office. I asked him what he DID want to do then. It opened a door to a conversation about planning for the future and college and thinking about how to pay for it and being responsible. It was one of those conversations that teachers LIVE for!!
It was funny because when we started talking it was just he and I and another student. By the end of the conversation, over half the class was listening and piping in. It was so exciting to talk to these kids that are supposedly the 'bad eggs' and the 'hard kids' that nobody wants to teach and hearing them say things that I'm positive easy to teach kids wouldn't have said. As they were walking out, several students turned back to thank me for talking to them. The kid I had started talking to turned back as he was walking out and said, 'Keep doin' what you're doin' Miss. We need good teachers like you.' Melt my heart.
So...like I said. Not that I wanna toot my own horn or anything.
But I'm pretty much awesome.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Note to the lady next to me on the plane...
They call it solitaire for a reason, but thanks for the tips.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
TMFH: TheDark
I may or may not be afraid of the dark just a little. So if you see me run and jump into bed, just roll with it. I will also probably run to and from the car if I forget something at night, and/or make you go get it. Chivalry isn't dead...right?
Monday, January 31, 2011
I'm talkin bout good vibrations
It has been a good couple of days for me.
For starters, I turned 27 in 2011 (you have to say it twenty-eleven other wise it does not sound catchy). My roommates threw me a birthday party, and I just love where I am right now in life. Friday afternoon I left the middle school I substitute at three days a week, the air was warm, the sun was beginning to set, I had a party to get ready for and I just thought, 'Life is really good right now.'
Today, I was in the hallway ushering students to class, and some kids from another class I have been in before and started talking to me. The fact that they remember my name warms my heart, and that they excitedly ask if I'm going to be in their class makes me even more happy.
K, a chattery, but lovable kid says to me, 'Miss Mac they be talkin' bout you, but I got your back.'
I responded, 'Who was talking about me K?'
K: 'You know (insert name of female student I had to remind to stop talking about a million times first period). '
Me: 'Oh yeah, I know her. What did she say?'
K: 'She said, "oooh that sub be gettin' up on my nerves!' So I told her, 'Girl, you better back up off Miss Mac.'
Me: (laughing) 'Well thanks K, I appreciate it.'
Cute, I know.
On Sunday, I found this note in my scriptures. I wrote it when I first got here to Houston, but I feel like it is MORE true now than it was four months ago.
'This is not the path I thought I was going to be on, but I know it is where I am supposed to be. I am grateful for a God whose wisdom leads me on journeys that make me stronger. I am closer to Him because of the wisdom He possesses in putting me where I need to be, even if it is the last place I thought He'd want me.'
Love this life.
For starters, I turned 27 in 2011 (you have to say it twenty-eleven other wise it does not sound catchy). My roommates threw me a birthday party, and I just love where I am right now in life. Friday afternoon I left the middle school I substitute at three days a week, the air was warm, the sun was beginning to set, I had a party to get ready for and I just thought, 'Life is really good right now.'
Today, I was in the hallway ushering students to class, and some kids from another class I have been in before and started talking to me. The fact that they remember my name warms my heart, and that they excitedly ask if I'm going to be in their class makes me even more happy.
K, a chattery, but lovable kid says to me, 'Miss Mac they be talkin' bout you, but I got your back.'
I responded, 'Who was talking about me K?'
K: 'You know (insert name of female student I had to remind to stop talking about a million times first period). '
Me: 'Oh yeah, I know her. What did she say?'
K: 'She said, "oooh that sub be gettin' up on my nerves!' So I told her, 'Girl, you better back up off Miss Mac.'
Me: (laughing) 'Well thanks K, I appreciate it.'
Cute, I know.
On Sunday, I found this note in my scriptures. I wrote it when I first got here to Houston, but I feel like it is MORE true now than it was four months ago.
'This is not the path I thought I was going to be on, but I know it is where I am supposed to be. I am grateful for a God whose wisdom leads me on journeys that make me stronger. I am closer to Him because of the wisdom He possesses in putting me where I need to be, even if it is the last place I thought He'd want me.'
Love this life.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Stick to the Trail
Stick to your task till it sticks to you
Starters are many, finishers few.
-John Bytheway
In case you ever wanted to know, I moved.
I know, you are heartbroken and all that jazz. But I had to move, and I am really pleased with the neighborhood I am living in now. It is cute, its neighborhoody, and I can run on the roads in the morning/evenings.
Last Saturday I set out to go on my required by training 7 mile run. I sat down at Mapmyrun.com and I put together a route that I thought would be interesting and would fulfill the required distance. I was excited about it. I sat at the screen and memorized it. Then I walked out the door and started running. About 20 minutes in I realized that I had no idea where I was going, so I decided not to worry and that I would just run for around what I thought it would take me to run 7 miles and then try and find my way home. By the time I got to around an hour and ten minutes of running, I realized I had no idea where I was. I ended up running for another 20 minutes trying to find my house. I eventually found the beautiful brick house that I live in, right next to about 50 other houses that look exactly alike on streets that are identical.
Today, I had a better plan. I had found a trail that was about 2 miles long. I figured I could loop around for my 8 mile run so I was excited. (Sidenote: It is so nice to live somewhere where I can run outside in January...) This trail runs along side of a bayou. On the other side I could tell that people had made their own make shift trail and I paid careful attention...for the first mile or so, to the fact that they paralleled, so I figured I was going to run back on the other side. Well when I got to the end of the 2 mile trail, I saw that it was connected to another. The thought of not having to do several loops was appealing so I kept running. When I got to four miles I crossed the bridge and continued down the grassy side of the bayou...well about five minutes down the trail I realized that I hadn't made sure that this side connected to the other, or that it paralleled the path. I found myself looking down at a fork in the bayou with two options: A) turn around or B) take my shoes off, cross the water that looked pretty shallow and get back on the path.
I chose option B, took advantage of the cool water, and waded across to get back to my trail and to get back to my goal.
As I came back down the four mile chute I thought about how easily that happens to me in life. I follow very carefully the trail, for a time, but then I am distracted by other things. There are ideas and places that seem so inviting at first, but in the end serve only to separate you from the path that leads to where you want to be going. And that is the way of life.
Sticking to the trail is a full time job, it is not something that can be worked at diligently for an hour or so (doesn't diligently imply constantly anyways?).
A few years ago Elaine S. Dalton, current General President of the Young Women gave a talk called Stay on the Path and said the following:
Sometimes as we walk life’s paths, we want to loiter in dangerous places, thinking that it is fun and thrilling and that we are in control. Sometimes we think we can live on the edge and still maintain our virtue. But that is a risky place to be. As the Prophet Joseph Smith told us, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue” (History of the Church, 5:134–35).
It is always interesting to me the many paths that seem so constantly before me. They all seem to be so inviting, and at times may give the appearance of leading to the same place. But in reality, there is only one path that will lead you directly to where you want to be going.
Sister Dalton continued:
The Savior is the perfect example of virtue. When Jesus walked the roads of the Holy Land, He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He healed the sick and caused the blind to see and raised the dead. “He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and [our] potential … (see “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” Liahonaand Ensign, Apr. 2000, 2–3). One of my favorite scriptures says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
Sure there are detours, sure you can get yourself back on the path...but you'll have to take your shoes off and get a little muddy.
Starters are many, finishers few.
-John Bytheway
This is me and my dad after we ran our first half-marathon together. He looks like he rocked it, I look like I'm about to die...and really I almost did.
In case you ever wanted to know, I moved.
I know, you are heartbroken and all that jazz. But I had to move, and I am really pleased with the neighborhood I am living in now. It is cute, its neighborhoody, and I can run on the roads in the morning/evenings.
Last Saturday I set out to go on my required by training 7 mile run. I sat down at Mapmyrun.com and I put together a route that I thought would be interesting and would fulfill the required distance. I was excited about it. I sat at the screen and memorized it. Then I walked out the door and started running. About 20 minutes in I realized that I had no idea where I was going, so I decided not to worry and that I would just run for around what I thought it would take me to run 7 miles and then try and find my way home. By the time I got to around an hour and ten minutes of running, I realized I had no idea where I was. I ended up running for another 20 minutes trying to find my house. I eventually found the beautiful brick house that I live in, right next to about 50 other houses that look exactly alike on streets that are identical.
Today, I had a better plan. I had found a trail that was about 2 miles long. I figured I could loop around for my 8 mile run so I was excited. (Sidenote: It is so nice to live somewhere where I can run outside in January...) This trail runs along side of a bayou. On the other side I could tell that people had made their own make shift trail and I paid careful attention...for the first mile or so, to the fact that they paralleled, so I figured I was going to run back on the other side. Well when I got to the end of the 2 mile trail, I saw that it was connected to another. The thought of not having to do several loops was appealing so I kept running. When I got to four miles I crossed the bridge and continued down the grassy side of the bayou...well about five minutes down the trail I realized that I hadn't made sure that this side connected to the other, or that it paralleled the path. I found myself looking down at a fork in the bayou with two options: A) turn around or B) take my shoes off, cross the water that looked pretty shallow and get back on the path.
I chose option B, took advantage of the cool water, and waded across to get back to my trail and to get back to my goal.
As I came back down the four mile chute I thought about how easily that happens to me in life. I follow very carefully the trail, for a time, but then I am distracted by other things. There are ideas and places that seem so inviting at first, but in the end serve only to separate you from the path that leads to where you want to be going. And that is the way of life.
Sticking to the trail is a full time job, it is not something that can be worked at diligently for an hour or so (doesn't diligently imply constantly anyways?).
A few years ago Elaine S. Dalton, current General President of the Young Women gave a talk called Stay on the Path and said the following:
Sometimes as we walk life’s paths, we want to loiter in dangerous places, thinking that it is fun and thrilling and that we are in control. Sometimes we think we can live on the edge and still maintain our virtue. But that is a risky place to be. As the Prophet Joseph Smith told us, “Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue” (History of the Church, 5:134–35).
It is always interesting to me the many paths that seem so constantly before me. They all seem to be so inviting, and at times may give the appearance of leading to the same place. But in reality, there is only one path that will lead you directly to where you want to be going.
Sister Dalton continued:
The Savior is the perfect example of virtue. When Jesus walked the roads of the Holy Land, He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He healed the sick and caused the blind to see and raised the dead. “He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and [our] potential … (see “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles,” Liahonaand Ensign, Apr. 2000, 2–3). One of my favorite scriptures says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
Sure there are detours, sure you can get yourself back on the path...but you'll have to take your shoes off and get a little muddy.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
TMFH: car shows
Need to be on the weekend. I can pretend I'm interested, but not after a full day of work.
Monday, January 17, 2011
To My Future Husband
So I followTHIS cute blog. I love every time one of this guy's posts show up on my google reader. Its short, sweet and to the point. So I decided that when ever I have those kinds of thoughts, that I am going to also just throw down little one-liners. I mean, my future husband should have SOME reference to what I am going to be like. I will call them TMFH posts and always have the subject in the title line.
Today's TMFH: Charity
I will probably walk by the bell ringer during the holiday season. I will do a million things, including pretending to text or call someone, to not make eye-contact with them. But if we are stopped at a stop light, and someone is standing on the street corner asking for food, I will give them whatever I have in the car. And yes, that includes your left-overs.
Today's TMFH: Charity
I will probably walk by the bell ringer during the holiday season. I will do a million things, including pretending to text or call someone, to not make eye-contact with them. But if we are stopped at a stop light, and someone is standing on the street corner asking for food, I will give them whatever I have in the car. And yes, that includes your left-overs.
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