English is beautiful.

An open letter to those who give unsolicited advice and uninformed opinions (man on the light rail this is for you)

Today -minding my own buisness- a man started talking to me on the light rail. "What's your major?" he asked casually pointing at the pack adorned on my back. "English and secondary education" I replied. "You?" I asked. "Oh NICE, an EASY major FUN yeah, I chose a much HARDER major" he pauses "I am a biology major" he said as if trying to impress me. I was immediately disgusted. 

First off, I would like to say that just becuase you went to school or remember your kids going through k-12 doesn't mean you know anything about being a teacher, educational philosophys , school buracracy or how to manage class of 30 hyped up pre-teens all while trying to achieve success that must be measured on a standardize test. 

Oh yeah super easy, try giving individual instruction similtaneously to 30 hormonal teenagers. Try just try dealing with helicopter parents or neglectful parents. Try having a major where you are heald to a higher moral standard than most. A major where you have to do over 300 practice hours on top of full credit hours before you even graduate and get your first job.  A career field that is really recent and where standards for teachers are always changing. A job that depends on the sway of politics and community support. A job where you physically work in a school from 7-3(ish) but most likely spend the time at home until you fall asleep grading papers, tutoring, holding student interventions or creating lesson plans.

I work my butt off in college,I volunteer helping to toutor high schoolers, I work at an international middle school, I am in NCTE and an English Honor Society and still wont have a guraenteed job placement when I graduate and even if I do, I will be required to get more education with out the pay scale other jobs offer. But, I do it because I love it and because I believe that education is the greatest gift you can give someone. My major is not esay, my job will not be easy. I am okay with that because I realize what I do is important. If education was easy they wouldn't require a degree, a license, that you pass a series of tests, continuing your education or background checks.

You wouldn't last one day man on light rail. Those kids would beat you at your own game so fast. 

Sincerly, 

A Proud Hard-Working Secondary Education, English Major

Had this yelled at me by a guest speaker in class

he looked right at me, pointed at me, asked me to stand up and said,

"Love what you do, there are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the Earth" -Rumi 

he then repeated it yelling with all his might.


*thanks stranger.

W0RDZ

I remember when I was at Mesa someone I had never met or seen came up to me and said, "I have seen you around and you alawys look like your having fun." That was it. That was all they said. Simple but it really impacted me. Funny, no one has said that to me at Metro. Maybe that says something.

Art I made inspired by the music of Townz VanZant

bahaha stuff found on the internet

"I have been thrashed and humbled by waves in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans"

That's a quote from a recent essay I wrote about my nature experience.

Anyway, awesome song of the moment.



This is from The Mountain Goat's album Sunset Tree which takes you through the lead singers life growing up which sadly, included a lot of abuse from his step father. Best lines from the song are...

"...lean in close to my little record player on the floor
so this is what the volume knob's for
I listen to dance music
dance music

okay so i'm seventeen years old
you're the last best thing I got going
but then the special secret sickness

starts to eat through you
what am I supposed to do?..." 

The underlined parts show the awesome alliteration used its perfect. This song somehow manages to have a happy tune while being about an extremely intense and sad subject. BRILLIANT! 

2nd time I cried today

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21500111/survivors-heart-tammy-noel-cunningham-life

I can't believe it's been nine months since you passed away

Today is Suicide Awareness day...
I thought of you...
Went to a bathroom on campus and cried....
I will never understand...
& I will miss you for as long as I live...
Wish I could talk to you right now...
& get some good Irish wisdom...

Stoked!!!

& nervous... will add more details later

And then I broke my toe

it hurts like heck
and I am getting sick of my work everyone is so negative
I am negative but only because I am feeling really ill lately