The Beginning of the End

Hey there! Boy, it has been a long time, hasn't it? I have been having such a fantastic winter break that I lost track of time and the goal of blogging. Let me tell you, though, it has been one of the best and most relaxing breaks I have ever had. I vegged on the couch, I did a TON of shopping for new clothes that I can teach in, I visited my parents, and best of all: I relaxed. Seriously, me relaxing is a huge deal. I normally worry about every little thing, stress out, keep my schedule jam packed, etc etc. It has made such a huge difference in my life to spend even a couple days just relaxing on the couch, re watching some of my favorite TV shows.

Anyways, Saturday is the student teacher kick-off meeting. I find that I have mixed feelings about it. I'm so happy I will get to see my friends again, and I'm so excited to find out my school and grade assignment. However, I'm so nervous about what is going to happen on the first day I'm in the classroom, during the first week, when I try to take over the class, etc. I'm sure we are all feeling it. We aren't going to be sitting in our safe classrooms taking notes on classroom management strategies anymore. We are going to be out there, in the classroom, hopefully living and implementing all of the tools that we have acquired from our fantastic professors. But it really is nerve racking, isn't it?  I think it has to do with fear of the unknown.

So! To get myself excited and motivated, I have been pinning recipes like a madwomen. I have to make sure that I eat healthy and enough food during my time teaching. I am moderately hypoglycemic, therefore if I'm not very careful with my food intake, student teaching could end very very badly.  Here are my food goals:

1. Make breakfast. Eat breakfast. Every single day.
2. Make lunch. Eat lunch. Every single day (I bought a new really cute bento style lunch box just for this!).
3. Make lunches the night before to make mornings easier on me.
4. Pack at least two healthy snacks along with my lunch.
5. Go to the gym at least 4 times a week. I'm thinking Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Not really a food goal, but a fitness goal.

So, there they are. I am creating Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack boards. I even made a big list of healthy snacks. I would be happy to share my list if anyone is interested!

Panic!

Does anyone else have a tendency to panic about things? It's gotten better this semester, I suspect because a couple of my friends (coughLisacoughcough) are rubbing off on me bit, which is a good thing. I can think much more clearly when I'm not panicking about every single little thing. However, there are two particular things that are stuck in my head that I continue to worry about, regardless of what I do:


1. Student teaching. Holy cow, y'all. I'm going to be student teaching next semester! Usually, it's not on my mind. Occasionally, I catch a glimpse of the calendar and realize how close it is. Then I start to freak out just a bit. I'm so nervous about being a good teacher. I keep telling myself that it's going to be okay (which I know it will be), but weird scenarios keep popping into my head. For example, what if I'm the worst classroom manager in existence and can't get the kids to learn from me? Things like that. Irrational, probably? Impossible, no.

2. Finding a job. I know this wont be for another six months or so, but with the economy the way things are and more educational budget cuts on the way, I'm very nervous that I will not be able to land a job. This will be a huge problem for me thanks to all of my student loans, not to mention car payments and rent. Oh, and food. I have a really strong resume, so hopefully I'll be able to find something. Honestly, I think it's completely natural for seniors to become concerned about this as graduation approaches. We really are leaving the "safety net" that college became for us and having to actually grow up and take real responsibility in our careers. Big step forward into adult hood, one that I'm completely ready to take, presuming I can find an opening in my career.


So, those are my big fears right now. On the plus side, I only have 28 more days of this semester and I apply for graduation Friday.  Despite all of my concerns, I am so ready for it. How about you?