Finding the Purple Positive

 Don't you just love it when somebody brings a baby into the office/family function/church/whatever? And everybody coos and makes funny faces and loves on him or her and takes turns holding the baby? Wait. Hold on. Flag on the play. I've got a problem with that last part. I am not a baby holder. It's not that I have anything against babies. Babies are the most adorable things on the planet and are right up there with fluffy kittens, but please don't put one in my lap. I don't mind holding one if you need  me to. I am a responsible, loving adult who will take care of your child if the need arises. But I will NOT be doing the following: throwing it in the air (not even once, let alone the multiple times people tend to) swinging it around to make it laugh bringing it back and forth close to my face; again, to make it laugh placing it in the burping position bouncing it like a horsey or any other rousing, energetic play I know the value of human life, and while the chil...

 Sorry if that title's a little racy for some of you, but it's true. I'm chugging through learning everything from the subject matter to different software to designing videos for this new class, and I'm gobbling it up as if it's chocolate. Sure, it's stressful. It's new and detailed and I want to do a good job, but it's also all about learning, and I LIVE for that. I've always loved learning new things, and I've always hungered for opportunities to broaden my horizons. This new class is giving me the chance to do that. I'm working with another professor's materials and making them my own, updating, tweaking, personalizing, absorbing, all of it. And, in order to do that, I've had to brush up on my statistics (3 classes of grad school stats and it still wants to fight with me), become an expert at editing PowerPoint, Word, video software, pdfs, test making software, image and photo editing software, and a whole lot more. I've reall...

 Folks, I just finished the last step of my first semester of teaching college!! Woot, woot! How awesome is that? Totally awesome, that's how awesome. Most of my students did really well, and I can't wait to do it again! I'm going to work super hard on prepping for the second class I'm taking on in the Fall so I can have time this summer to do fun things like swim and paint my office and go to the Bluegrass Festival, and I think it'll all work out great. I know it's going to be challenging. I've been working on it for a month or so already, but I'm ready for it. Bring it on! Yay! I did it! :)

 I've seen movies where people practice what they're going to say in a speech and always thought, "Yeah, that's a good idea for teaching," then never did it. But, this week, I saw myself do it. And, it's not like I planned it; I just instinctively knew that was the right way to practice. I was reviewing for the final and wanted it to flow nicely (and quickly to make sure we fit all the questions in), and I found myself looking at the material and mouthing/whispering what I would say in front of the class. I even added what type of responses I might hear from the students and what my responses might be to those responses. Whoa. I'm an actual lecturing teacher, folks. How about that? Neat. p.s. The reviews went swimmingly and the final next week is the last day of my first semester of teaching college! Woot! 

 Okay, dammit. I found a part of my new wonderful life that isn't absolutely wonderful. I'm prepping to do lecture videos and I'm basically transcribing what another teacher has done so I can do it in my own voice with a script (and add my own notes and change a few things here and there), and WOW, is it boring! This is why my medical transcription business went nowhere. Blech! I hate transcription! I can do it, yeah, but wow, do I not want to!  I'm enjoying the math part of it. I'm actually understanding bits of statistics a little deeper because I'm trying to make sure I can answer questions about the lessons I'm creating for next semester. Yes, did I mention I'm teaching Stats next semester? Yup. One of my toughest subjects, but it's a great opportunity, and I want to hit it out of the park, so I'm determined  to do this well. That means a ton of preparation, so that's what I'm doing. A teacher who's taught this several times befor...

Well, we're almost there. The end of the semester is within reach. Just a couple more weeks, then the final, then done until August. It feels very weird to be nearing the end of my first semester of teaching college. How did I get to this amazing place? Okay, honestly, I've worked extremely hard for a lot of years, and several kind people along the way supported me in my journey and helped me along when they could. I never could have reached this moment without the trust and belief in me that so many have shown. I'm in awe of the opportunities I've been given and the chance to live out this dream. Don't pinch me. I don't want to wake up!