I had an interesting experience today at school, that I don't want to forget. I have to take a shower and get to bed so this will be brief.

For privacy sake, we will call this student Ben. Ben is a student that caused a lot of drama for me and my mentor teacher, which I don't need to go into detail about right now. The main point is that it caused some hate in my heart. I am not using this word lightly, I genuinely had a hard time working for this child because I thought the situation he put us teachers in was so unfair. I am a little embarrassed to admit, I was perhaps a little harder on Ben that I needed to be in the weeks following. The kid is rambunctious, and always getting into trouble so it wasn't a huge stretch that I had to discipline him. Well today an experience changed me, and the way I view Ben and other students like Ben.

Ben and Kami (name changed again)  are partners in a group that should have 4 students, but due to absences only has the two of them. This seating arrangement has been in place for about a month, and we are due to change it again any day. Well Ben and Kami do not get a long at allllllll. Sometimes it is exhausting listening to them complain about each other. Today in particular was a particularly rough day. I finally had to sit the two of them down individually, and in private. My instinct was to reprimand Ben, and send Kami back to work (glory child with rules and homework). I decided randomly " No. Listen Ben out. Maybe there is something more that's going on here than you are seeing." I am so glad I did. Long story short again, Ben was not feeling included in the group work, and Kami was taking over the project and so he was feeling frustrated.

I took a minute before I responded to Ben. I acknowledged his feelings and reminded him that in our class, we are all friends and we all work together. I also acknowledged that it was probably hard for him to work with Kami for so long, and we already had planned for the desks to be moved soon. When I was about to send him back to his seat, he gave me the biggest hug I have ever received from a student. In that moment I was stunned. And my heart of ice melted. By no means is Ben a saint, that boy is a troublemaker at heart. But he is a student, and he needs my love too. People mess up, and I was holding this thing over his head for weeks, not giving him a chance for a fresh start and try again. Being a teacher is so rewarding and exhausting at the same time because you have to put your whole heart in it. Every student.

I am going to do a better job of forgiving, and not just in the classroom. Everyone messes up, and I would be heartbroken if I wasn't given another chance. That'd be a double standard if I didn't extend that same forgiveness to my fellow man, whether that be a roommate, coworker or student.

Anyways... enough with the late night ramblings of a tired student teacher.


Goodnight ya'll.

"We'll go fishing in a craw fish hole"

I recently had Spring Break, and I got to visit Jane and Joe! I hung out with them for a few days in Texas, and a few days in Louisiana. so.much.fun. I am pretty sure I was meant to live in the South. Everyone is so friendly, they call you "ma'am", "sweetheart", or " suga'. "

And you see people who just randomly pulled over on the side of the highway because they decided to go fishing. This song was stuck in my head the whole weekend 

"You get a line, I get a pole. We'll go fishing in a craw fish hole."

This was delicious. Definitely worth the wait. I loved the whole atmosphere. There was the bustle of people getting in to their seats, and this old dude was singing his own version of "Let It Be" and the sun was shining. 

Eatin' my way through New Orleans... one delicious melts-in-your-mouth praline at a time

 Inside this beautiful church right there in the French Quarter. It was really quiet and peaceful, which was a big change from the jazz music being played outside.

i'm such a creeper. but oh wells. 

 Oooh Ihad my first food truck experience, and it was fantastic. The smell alone grabbed my attention. Tennessee knows their barbeque. It got even better. While I stood there licking my fingers between bites, there was this high school band playing jazz music. It was one of those moments where i was just content with life. the sun was shining, my tummy was filled with delicious food, and i was dancing to some fun music. needless to say, I am a fan of food trucks. If any of my Vegas friends are interested, the foodie fest is coming to Vegas! April 30th - May 3rd.

After my delicious food truck experience, we went walking down Bourbon street. We didn't get particularly far because it was a little more crazy then what we were looking for, but it was fun to people watch.


On our way back to Texas, we stopped at oak alley plantation. That was cool, it gave a different perspective of the south, other than Bourbon street (aka party central).

Along the sidewalk where 300 year old Oak trees are planted

 totally random yet interesting facts:
the daughter of the man who owned this plantation in the 1900's had to have her leg amputated. she tripped on the stairs, her hoop skirt (made of whale bone) punctured her leg and caused an infection. in those days, amputating was the easiest thing to do.

another fact: this is how father's gave their approval while their 14 yr old daughter was courting. if the candle was bigger, they can have longer to talk. if the candle was shorter... bye bye suitor.

view from the top porch

Yummm

 Overall it was a fantastic trip, a nice vacation that I needed. More to come soon, I just need to get back to job applications and enjoying the rest of my Spring Break!

(shout out to my awesome brother in law Joe for letting me steal some of his photos he took)