The Beginning

I have been thinking about writing a blog for the last couple of years but I haven't felt that I had the time or energy to make it as meaningful as I want it to be.  It is the eve of my first real day of student teaching, however, and I don't want to forget anything about the journey I am about to begin. 

I cannot believe that this is my fifth and final fall in Madison.  The last four years on campus at UW-Madison have been incredible.  I have made more friends and more memories than I had ever expected and I know that I'll spend the rest of my life wishing I could go back to this time.  But after spending this past Saturday on campus cheering on my beloved Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium, I realized that something was different.  Many of my peers have graduated and are working "big boy/big girl" jobs or moving on to medical or graduate school.  This game day didn't feel like the others.  I spend the entire week before preparing my classroom with my cooperating teacher at an elementary school on the far west side of Madison.  Instead of wandering campus with my friends, laying in the sun, or picking up my books at the University Bookstore, I was in a professional setting attending meetings and writing lesson plans.

I should also include in this first post my current romantic/family/relationship situation.  Not only am I entering a semester where most of my time is spent off-campus working with a team of teachers and students, I'm also living in a studio apartment!  It is a beautiful place with all the amenities a girl could want- except my loved ones.  My boyfriend of a year, my parents, and my sister (and her husband and 3-year-old daughter) all live in my hometown, which is about 3 hours from where I live right now.  I was blessed to spend the summer with them whilst teaching preschool at a local daycare center.  It is SO HARD to go from seeing them every day to seeing them every couple of weeks!  Sometimes I struggle to take a step back and realize that they love me a lot and that three hours is nothing compared to those who live thousands and thousands of miles from their loved ones.

Regardless of feeling a little lonely sometimes, I am so excited to be teaching 35+ hours every week.  I think that I am my best person when I am hanging out with kids and helping them discover what an awesome world we live in.  I can't wait to meet my 7-9 year olds tomorrow!

Love,
Ms. T :)