Fifteen minutes.
Fifteen minutes left to go of the last school day of 2012 and then I am out of here! I shouldn't be so impatient. Today has honestly been an extremely easy day -- no students were in school and we teachers had the entire morning and afternoon to ourselves to grade in solitude and silence.
I can't believe that I got all but one of my goals accomplished (I could not find the inner strength or motivation to grade 60 creative short stories....that takes so much time and those grades technically don't need to be in until the end of January. I was just being over-ambitious trying to fit that extra marking in before the vacation....)
This week I have graded 106 English Exams, 60 Essay Projects and 20 Poetry Anthologies.
The exams were really the biggest pain....blowing through the multiple choice is fine (a little dizzying but mostly painless). Reading essay response after essay response about the same themes, symbols, and literary devices present in but a handful of stories and poems was absolutely draining -- physically, emotionally and psychologically. I feel so ready for a rest. I deserve a break. I've worked hard, I've pushed myself to get everything done and now that's it. Hallas. Finito. Done. I'm out of here!
I cannot believe how quickly this half of the year has gone. Time seems to have sped along at warp speed since I was first offered this dream job. I can't believe I was hired in February of this year. I feel as though my entire life after that joyful point was centered around getting myself ready to move here. Getting documents prepared for my visa, saying many good-byes, enriching my mind with knowledge about numerous educational practices I knew I would need to be familiar with, forging new bonds of friendship and packing up my entire life into 14 boxes, 3 large duffle bags, 1 carry-on and a Longchamps purse.
Right now (yes, a great deal of time has elapsed since I initially started writing this post) I've just finished packing and watching one of my all-time favorite movies, Love Actually. This is all beginning to feel real to me now. I can't believe I am going back to Boston tonight! Though I said that time has gone by quickly, it has paradoxically also made it seem as though my past is further behind me. I haven't seen my friends and family in four months, but it seems like it has been years! As over-the-moon ecstatic as I am to see everyone, I'm also a little nervous. Will people be as excited to see me?
I've got two more hours until my driver gets here to pick me up and drive me to the airport. It is always at this point in my travels that I begin to feel as though I'm forgetting something. All the presents are packed tightly beneath, on top of and in between my clothes which have been meticulously and strategically organized in my suitcase. What to do now?
Sit.
Breathe.
Enjoy this.
You have nothing you have to do. You just need to show up these next few weeks.
Show up to the airport, to yoga, to friend's homes and to every new day.
Nothing to do, sort, organize or plan.
Just be. Exist. Show up.
Isn't it funny how hard it is to relax? Relaxing should be easy and effortless but in fact the opposite is true. It is a great deal harder to let go of our fears, doubts, insecurities and stresses and just melt into peaceful bliss. Our usually busy brains are discomforted by the inactivity, the nothingness.
Well this Christmas holiday season I have made a pledge to myself do nothing but that which makes me smile and provides me with happiness. I will not do anything because I "have to". I will do only the things I want to. I know that sounds selfish, but I deserve this.
With that, I'm signing off. My heart is full of love and glee, my mind is clear and calm, my eyes are tired, but my spirit is invigorated.
Fifteen minutes left to go of the last school day of 2012 and then I am out of here! I shouldn't be so impatient. Today has honestly been an extremely easy day -- no students were in school and we teachers had the entire morning and afternoon to ourselves to grade in solitude and silence.
I can't believe that I got all but one of my goals accomplished (I could not find the inner strength or motivation to grade 60 creative short stories....that takes so much time and those grades technically don't need to be in until the end of January. I was just being over-ambitious trying to fit that extra marking in before the vacation....)
This week I have graded 106 English Exams, 60 Essay Projects and 20 Poetry Anthologies.
The exams were really the biggest pain....blowing through the multiple choice is fine (a little dizzying but mostly painless). Reading essay response after essay response about the same themes, symbols, and literary devices present in but a handful of stories and poems was absolutely draining -- physically, emotionally and psychologically. I feel so ready for a rest. I deserve a break. I've worked hard, I've pushed myself to get everything done and now that's it. Hallas. Finito. Done. I'm out of here!
 |
| My AMAZING Superintendent and myself at our end of year Christmas Party |
I cannot believe how quickly this half of the year has gone. Time seems to have sped along at warp speed since I was first offered this dream job. I can't believe I was hired in February of this year. I feel as though my entire life after that joyful point was centered around getting myself ready to move here. Getting documents prepared for my visa, saying many good-byes, enriching my mind with knowledge about numerous educational practices I knew I would need to be familiar with, forging new bonds of friendship and packing up my entire life into 14 boxes, 3 large duffle bags, 1 carry-on and a Longchamps purse.
 |
| Packing up my apartment in June |
 |
| Checked luggage ready to go to Riyadh (packed that morning) |
 |
| Flight out of Boston in August, flying over my home of Winthrop |
Right now (yes, a great deal of time has elapsed since I initially started writing this post) I've just finished packing and watching one of my all-time favorite movies, Love Actually. This is all beginning to feel real to me now. I can't believe I am going back to Boston tonight! Though I said that time has gone by quickly, it has paradoxically also made it seem as though my past is further behind me. I haven't seen my friends and family in four months, but it seems like it has been years! As over-the-moon ecstatic as I am to see everyone, I'm also a little nervous. Will people be as excited to see me?
I've got two more hours until my driver gets here to pick me up and drive me to the airport. It is always at this point in my travels that I begin to feel as though I'm forgetting something. All the presents are packed tightly beneath, on top of and in between my clothes which have been meticulously and strategically organized in my suitcase. What to do now?
Sit.
Breathe.
Enjoy this.
You have nothing you have to do. You just need to show up these next few weeks.
Show up to the airport, to yoga, to friend's homes and to every new day.
Nothing to do, sort, organize or plan.
Just be. Exist. Show up.
Isn't it funny how hard it is to relax? Relaxing should be easy and effortless but in fact the opposite is true. It is a great deal harder to let go of our fears, doubts, insecurities and stresses and just melt into peaceful bliss. Our usually busy brains are discomforted by the inactivity, the nothingness.
Well this Christmas holiday season I have made a pledge to myself do nothing but that which makes me smile and provides me with happiness. I will not do anything because I "have to". I will do only the things I want to. I know that sounds selfish, but I deserve this.
With that, I'm signing off. My heart is full of love and glee, my mind is clear and calm, my eyes are tired, but my spirit is invigorated.
Love
Love
Love
"love actually is all around"
 |
| Christmas white-board message from some of my 9th grade girls |
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