Home on the Mind

Being Fall and all, I've had Georgia on my mind a lot lately. I miss it! I miss the bright colors everywhere and the high school football games and I miss the mall. Haha! So today I had a "Liz Day." I went shopping for a new outfit, bought a Pumpkin Spice Steamer from Starbucks (no coffee), a few books, and I got my hair trimmed because the ends were split and dead. Lol. So overall, it's been an awesome day. It has been so nice to have some time to myself. To just be. I know it sounds selfish, but sometimes those self fulfilling days are needed. I was feeling very homesick and today I had a day that made me feel very much at home. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it does to me. :)

So here's a song that I heard on the radio today that made me think of home and made me feel a little bit better.

Faith In Every Footstep

It's been a long time, Blogging World. Sorry about that. Sometimes life takes a pretty strong hold and it doesn't want to let go.

Summer was awesome. The beginning of the school year has been pretty good. I love my students. They are already pretty amazing and I know I'm going to have a good year with them. I am so excited! I just have a really good feeling that this is going to be a great year. So here we go, 7th and 8th graders! Let's rock this. ;)

On the flip side of awesomeness there have been some challenges. Well, one challenge to be specific. And I brought it upon myself. That's what I find to be so amazing about the Lord and the way He works. Even when we're not listening and trying to ignore Him, He still finds a way to humble us enough so that we can listen. So that we WILL listen. And this time, I really didn't want to listen and I made life hard for myself. Then, when I finally listened and acted upon the things I felt and heard, life became so much easier and brighter. I had several people tell me, "Wow, Liz. You haven't been yourself for awhile, but tonight...you're back! Good to see you." Not even kidding. Several people have told me that. And everyday there are little affirmations that tell me I'm doing the right thing, right now. Everyday there is something that reminds me that the Lord is mindful of me, He loves me, and I need to put my trust in Him. Sometimes you have to step into the darkness to find the light. :)

President Joseph F. Smith said, "I firmly believe [that] the divine approval, blessing and favor of Almighty God … has guided the destiny of His people from the organization of the Church until the present … and guided us in our footsteps and in our journeyings into the tops of these mountains." Now, President Smith was speaking about the pioneers but I think this can also apply to us. Heavenly Father leads us and guides us into our own "mountains" sometimes. The road may be bumpy, the weather may be fierce, and the days may be dark. But eventually God leads us out of the mountains and into the valley where we will find rest. And if we give our will to Him and do our best to follow Him, He will lead us to amazing things.

And finally Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "Truly the Lord encourages us to walk in faith to the edge of the light and beyond—into the unknown. After the trial of our faith, He once again shines the light ahead of us, and our journey of faith in every footstep continues."

Summer Lovin', Having a Blast...

I'm not gonna lie, summer has been pretty good to me. Really good to me. And it's not over yet! Soon I'll head to a week long training and pre-planning and then life begins again at school. And I'm so excited! I'm not dreading the new school year at all. I am so excited to be back in the classroom and teaching. I'm ready for the routine again. Will I miss sleeping in? Ha. Duh! But I'm more excited to be back on a schedule and working.

Before the summer began, the Church completely reorganized how the YSA works in Utah. They created YSA stakes and new wards. Everything is on a much larger scale now. People were so worried, and I was so excited! And it has turned out to be a wonderful thing, especially for me. It has become a huge blessing in my life. Bigger than I thought it would be. :)

So my new ward is awesome and I have loved meeting and getting to know new people. Being the social butterfly that I am, it's been a lot of fun doing new things with those new people and I am starting to really love being in Utah. I've always remembered Utah summers from my childhood as being awesome, and trust me. They're still pretty much awesome. If only it would rain more...

And in those Utah summers you get to celebrate the 24th of July! Happy late Pioneer Day blogging world! I had a lot of fun this year. It, again, was pretty much amazing.

However, I am also pretty stoked for Fall. I LOVE the Fall. It's my favorite season and I cannot wait to see the beautiful colors the canyon has to offer in a few months. Please don't disappoint me, mountains. :)

Update

Hello blogging world! Long time, no write. My life has been very busy. The school year ended and now I'm into summer. Woo hoo! I'm enjoying life and sleeping in and being slightly lazy, but now I must do lesson plans. Yuck. But I'm really excited for this next year because 1. I will be teaching one full year and 2. I will 7th, 8th, and 9th grade (this sounds daunting, but I'm excited) and 3. I love teaching. Because I'm crazy. :)

I spent a week in California seeing Yosemite, the Sequoias, Hearst Castle, Monterey Bay and Cannery Row, Alcatraz, Pier 39, San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge (which is in fact orange), and then finally to Modesto to see my Aunt Jill. It was a very LONG but very FUN trip! Pictures to post soon. Or you can just check out my photography FB page, if you know where it is. I loved Alcatraz and San Francisco. I would live there if I ever got really stinkin' rich. But I probably never will. :)

And today ladies and gentlemen is the Fourth of July! Hooray for Independence! I love the Fourth of July. Yesterday I wore red, white, and blue to church (no, I did not look like an American flag) and enjoyed being patriotic. Today and volunteered and rode in the local city parade! It was so much fun! I just got to stand in the back of a truck and wave my arm to my hearts content and loved every minute of it. :) I saw a lot of my students which was weird, but fun. I just heard shouts from the crowd, "Miss Adams! MISS ADAMS!!!" It was fun.

So, off to grill and see fireworks I go! Have a happy Fourth!

Thank you, Mr. ENT!

Hooray for wonderful doctors that listen to you. :)

Honestly, I feel that if I had gone to a good doctor in February who would listen to me and my history with sinus nonsense, then I wouldn't still be sick. But thank heavens for the doctor today because he listened and is going to help me immensely! I can not wait.

So today my ENT told me that I have polyps in my nose. See here and here for more information. But essentially they're non cancerous (did you know you could get cancer in your nose???) and mainly annoying. They're like mowing the lawn. They'll come back, but you can "cut" them down and keep 'em in shape with medicine or surgery. I get to go back for a lovely CT scan later this month to see if that is necessary and if there's anything else in there we need to know about.

I'm just so excited because I'm finally getting answers! The other doctors I went to just wanted to get me out of the office and so didn't take the time. But now I feel like I have a doctor who is going to do what the profession requires. Take care of me. Hooray for being on the up-swing of feeling better!

Lately

I promise I'm a happy person! I was just frustrated last post. But things have been getting a lot better and school ends next week! Woo hoo! I am so excited. I am ready to break and re-cooperate. Reason being: I'm still sick. :( I've been sick since the middle of February. Three doctors, two anitbiotics, one steroid shot...and four months later I'm still Little Miss Sicky. So on Tuesday I'm headed to an ENT. Thank goodness! I am so excited, I can't even tell you! I just hope someone can figure out what's going on in my nose. That would be nice. :)

Other than being sicky and school ending, I just found out the other day that I will be teaching at the same school next year! I am so excited about this! It is such a relief to know I have another job for a year because I think the stress of not-knowing has added to the sickiness. So now I know! Hooray! I also just found out that my old roommate will be teaching at one of our sister schools! She'll be down the street from me! I am so excited! I cannot wait for Fall and for her to be here. There will be good times!

So not much lately, but I will keep you updated on life and what all the ENT tests say. See ya!

"Miss Adams, why are you so grumpy?" Because if you don't fight for your education, I will.

Ugh. I've been hearing this a lot lately. "Miss Adams, why are you so grumpy?" "Why are you mad all the time?" "What did 2nd period do to you now?" "Why have you stopped being the cool teacher?" "Are you mad?"

Ugh. Again, I've been hearing this a lot lately. Let me explain...

Teaching is not easy. It may look easy, but its not. Every single teacher in the history of education has said that the first year is the hardest. Most teachers quit after their first year. You just have to get back up on the horse, try again, and keep going. NOW... coming in the middle of the school year, following a teacher who had completely lost all drive and will power to do anything, AND teaching 150 ninth graders who want nothing more in life than to drive you crazy... now THAT'S hard.

Don't get me wrong. I love my students. I really do. People don't believe me, but I do. And a lot of them like me (or so they say...). Even my worst kid who drives me up the wall...I'll still fight for him/her. I'll still do everything in my power to help them succeed.

Classroom management is hard. Don't let anyone EVER tell you differently. Keeping control of a classroom, not leading by fear but rather by love and respect, and being able to keep a positive repoire with kids while disciplining them is hard. I have been met with opposition, help, respect, disrespect, you name it, these kids have thrown it at me. And I am so tired.

They push, and I push back. They pull, and I pull harder. I never knew how strong I was until I got this job. My principal told me the other day she didn't think I'd make it this long. Not because she thought I was a weak teacher, but because my classes have run out 3 other teachers before me. And then she asked me how I do it and all I could say was, "I'm the newbie who has idealistic fantasies about changing the world one kid at a time. I can't give up. I'd hate myself if I did."

And no matter how tired I am, I CAN'T give up. Every morning I wake up and go to school no matter how hard I know the day is going to be. And even though it's hard, I still love my job! I do! I can't deny that. Not everyday is a nightmare, only some every now and then. But whenever I have a bad day with the kids, I let it overshadow the good days, which is something I need to work on.

Anyway, back to the title of this blog. What these kids don't understand is that I'm not mad or grumpy or angry...I'm frustrated. There is a huge amount of apathy in the kids of today, and everyday I get frustrated with the lack of trying. When grades were due, I stayed after school for 3 hours grading last minute make-up work just so I could get their grades up. I was even changing grades in a frenzy on Monday morning just to raise one kid's grade from a A- to an A. Because that little bit of difference makes a huge difference to some of them. And then you have the kids who just don't care after I've given them ample of opportunities to raise their grade. Why won't you fight for yourself?

Now I'm not trying to say, "Oh hey, look at me, I'm an amazing teacher," because I'm not. Far from it. I just needed the space to vent. Like I said before though, I love my job and I love my kids. Everyday I wake up and thank Heavenly Father for giving me this opportunity. And everyday I thank Him for giving me the strength and love needed to do this job. You just never know how much the Lord has given you until you stop and look back at your blessings. And He has given me a lot. Therefore, I too must give. I MUST give my all. I MUST care. Not only MUST I, I WANT to.