Happiness is Simple & Happy Halloween

Hola! I think that I am finally back on track with some things, as far as this road to teaching goes. I have started contacting private schools and inquiring about job openings. I figured if there are no openings, at least they have seen my name, so that when the summer comes and new positions open up, they will remember it. I have also managed to get a deferment on one of my loans for a year, which is beyond awesome to me. In college, I accepted a scholarship that would become a loan if I didn’t work as a teacher for 4 years in Kentucky after graduating. I have been contacting the agency to see if I can get a deferment with them as well and I am praying that it works out in my favor. I have also realized that I limited myself with only applying to one school district, so this time around I am applying to some of the surrounding counties. My main concerns with going out of Louisville are not having reliable transportation and not having any money saved up to help with a move. But as they say, where there is a will, there is a way! I also turned in the last piece of information needed for my Sub teacher application. They said that they would start calling people in 3 weeks to put them on payroll; this is the end of week one and I could just bust with all of this waiting! I am so ready to get back in a classroom and teach! I need that atmosphere and opportunity in my life:)

3 A Day Rant!

Happy Halloween! I dressed as a leopard for the kiddos today. This is called dedication! I love my afro puffs and Halloween is the only chance, I would get to rock them, LOL!

I got to come into work an hour later than usual today. I loved the extra sleep! I don’t seem to get enough sleep these days! Adult life has its privileges and cons! 


I made broccoli cheddar soup from scratch last night and it was delicious. There is nothing like some good, hearty, and warm soup to make you feel better on a cold and windy day. Ah, it’s the simple things in life that make you smile.
Bonus:
In my cheapness and eagerness to get back into school, I decided that I would like to attend Indiana University Southwest for grad school because they do not require you to take the GRE. I was looking over their programs yesterday and was not excited about anything that they had to offer. I know in my heart that I do not want to attend that school and I have decided to go back to U of L or to attend Bellarmine University or Spalding University here in Louisville. Right now I have promised myself that I will start saving for the GRE no matter what issues come up; I will just have to sacrifice. My ultimate goal is to become a school counselor and then to gain my doctorate degree in an area, that I have not decided on yet. If JCPS did not require you to teach for 3 years before being a counselor with them, that’s what I would be doing at this moment.
Until the next time life, has checked me.
-T

And the Winner Is...... Mrs.Tabb!!

I am very new to this give away thing, so I don’t know how to do the random generator. I just wrote names on slips of paper and put them in a bag. When in doubt do things the good old fashioned way! The name that I pulled was Mrs. Tabb from We Are The Tabbs! Congratulations, you have won a candle from Senteour Exotics and a custom frame from me. I will contact you shortly and wait 3 days for a response, if you have not responded in 3 days, I will draw another name. Thank you to everyone that has participated and I am sure that I will be doing another one!
Until the next time that life has check me.
-T

Just Keep Swimming

Hey there! Looks like my break lasted longer than Wednesday but to be truthful I have been working since I said I was going on a break, typical me. The very next day after my last post, I got in email from the Sub center about attending Substitute teaching orientation. A W E S O M E!!!  So I was scrambling around trying to get everything together that they asked for.  I had to pay $25 again for finger printing; I actually had the money so it was hard to complain, not really. Finally, this Monday I had everything that I needed for the orientation on Tuesday. Fast forward, to the 4 hour orientation; I am really glad that the hosts were funny because 4 hours without pay is hard to sit through when it’s just a repeat of what you learned in your college courses. (I am working on not complaining, I really am.) So finally everything is going smoothly until…… I realize that JCPS has their own rules regarding when a TB test expires. Normally a TB test last for 2 years but they wanted one that was done within the year. Isn’t that something? Anyway, I was able to leave all of my information minus the TB test, which when I get it completed I can drop off the results. Now we are finally at the end of the orientation and in starts the slew of questions, some asking important information and some asking for information that had already been stated. By this point, I am annoyed because I went to work at 6:30 then raced to the orientation and had to return back to work from 2 to 6. Remember that phrase that there is no such thing as a stupid question? Not really agreeing with that at the moment. At this point I am hungry, I have to use the restroom and am just so utterly ready to leave that I could explode BUT being the T R O O P E R, that I am, I made it through to the end. I am not always this extra, I really am not.   

I leave orientation, grab me some lunch and go back to work. Now I can focus on figuring out how to get this TB test done. I know I can’t go to the place I went to last time because I work during the hours that they are open. If you don’t know, when you take a TB test you have to get it checked again within two days of getting the shot. Finally I find out that I can get one done at Kroger’s Little Clinic. Long story short, I had to pay $21 dollars to get this shot, so now I’m going broke to get paid, kinda, sorta. I still haven’t paid my car insurance but I figure I will on my next check because this job is essential to me getting a permanent position.  I have now formed the habit of talking myself through my current situations and that was an example.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming! I used to hate the movie Finding Nemo but now I understand the adult messages that are laced within the film. Just like Dory, I can only just keep swimming because better is on the way. This is helping me escape becoming discouraged and I promise that my moments of sadness are getting further apart. Go me! The struggle continues and I am hoping that it turns out to make me a better teacher in the end. I’m so hungry for this success and I shudder to think of all the things that I will go on to accomplish when I get started. #SelfMotivation #GreatnessIsComing

3 A Day Rant

Friday is almost here! My God, being an adult is tiring. I wish I had rollover minutes for all the naps I passed up until now. 

Tomorrow I plan to get some painting done. I am painting a door prize for an event at my church. 

At student teaching orientation I learned that I am not alone. I saw several former classmates that are currently in my same predicament and it put a lot of things into perspective for me. Number one being, that I am my own worst critic, it’s a bad habit and I don’t want it anymore. 

Until the next time life has checked me.

-T

P.S. Here is that plane, I was working on for my Sorority Sisters.

 

Doing This In My Own Way

Is your struggle meant for other people to understand? I believe that whatever struggle that you are going through, it is meant for you to understand and if other people don't get it that is ok. If it’s not happening to them, why should they care to understand? I say this to say, watch who you share your feelings about your struggle with. If it is someone who is willing to talk and give honest feedback so be it and if it’s not, that's a risk that may hurt you in the end. Some of my family and a few of the people that I know just don’t seem to understand that I am struggling through this situation. How could I not be when I am fighting to do the very thing that I love! Six years in college with a degree change and finally I have my degree but I am not putting it to use. Hell yes, I am struggling and it is affecting me. Sometimes I am up and sometimes I am down but that’s just what happens when life is giving you a rough time. Am I not allowed to get through my problems in my own way? I think I do deserve that much. I just don’t want to end up bitter so I need to get through this in my own way.  

With the help of a professional friend, I have come to the realization that not gaining a job has been making me feel inadequate. Sometimes you can’t control what you think and the way you feel. During the conversation she told me that the principals advice, was making me feel less than. And to be honest it did because I thought I was doing a good job, smiling, answering questions, and asking questions. I told her I don’t know why I was so bummed out about one person’s opinion and that I was just going to take it, try to fix it, and remain positive. At the end of our talk, she told me that I have great coping skills and that venting is healthy. I am glad that I seem to be facing these problems in the right way because Lord knows I would be a complete mess if I always let the negative weigh me down.

After I finish this post, I am taking a break from thinking about this teaching situation and a job. I will get back on track in a couple of days; I hope that this decision doesn’t bite me in the end. I will still post to my blog if I am moved to, lol.

3 A Day Positive Rant

• This is going to sound so fat but I have some chocolate ice cream at home, that I can’t wait to get to. Lol! I have been cutting back on a lot of stuff and I think I deserve a treat.

• Today is payday! Hopefully I have enough left over to buy myself something after I budget my expenses. I want to knit me a scarf and there is a book that I would like to buy. I am so thankful to have a means to pay my bills. I'd rather be broke and have all of my bills paid and gas in the car than to spend it on something that I don't need.

• I am helping my sorority with their props for a step show. We are a little late on getting started, so I hope we finish on time. I will be sure to take pics of the finished product.

Until the next time that life has checked me.
-T

Give A Way Update

I am getting so excited about hosting this Giveaway. Remember the giveaway includes an item from Senteur Exoctics which specializes in natural products and a custom painted picture frame. Below I have included some examples of some of the things I have painted. I just would like to say that no copy wright infringement intended!!!!

I get better with each one:)
Until the next time life has checked me.
-T
P.S. This post will only be up until the end of the Giveaway.

Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Styles and Natural Hair Care: Reflection Exercise: Are You An Overthinker?

Curly Nikki | Natural Hair Styles and Natural Hair Care: Reflection Exercise: Are You An Overthinker?:   by GG of PeaceLoveandPrettyThings The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. ~Elbert...


Good read!

Getting Feedback and Making a Plan

Hello:)

Today I received feedback on one of my interviews. I was told that I need more experience with teaching and that I was not energetic enough, meaning that I didn’t persuade them that I was passionate about teaching. I understand the experience part because well it just makes sense. The school year has been well underway for several weeks and I understand the risk in hiring a first year teacher without much time to prepare. I will say that I was caught off guard by the not energetic part....blank stare. Throughout that particular interview we laughed, I smiled, and I asked questions, and I felt that I was showing confidence, you know letting my passion speak for itself. I got the game all wrong! Still feeling some type of way about it and am still convincing myself that it is constructive criticism. I am guessing that this awkward thing is bringing me down more than I thought. Bummer....

Should I fake it until I make it? Does being a little reserved mean that you lack passion? Does not being energetic in an interview mean that you lack passion for the job? How energetic, perky, extra do you need to be in an interview if you are an introvert? Does introvert mean boring or just not the mold that many people think teachers should fit? How can I do better?These are serious inquires, lol! As the true lover of learning that I am, I am now on a quest to find the perfect mix in creating a sociable introvert. I think that I already am a sociable introvert but maybe I need to be a little louder, so other people can get it.

I really believe that maybe I am being too serious and thinking too much during these interviews. I should work on being less nervous but I really can’t control it. I get the same way when I am taking a test no matter the subject! I just want this so bad that I just concentrate on saying the right things and maybe that is my downfall?

But I digress, I'm done with that because I could go on and on about, how I don’t understand. I don’t like rattling off a bunch of excuses; instead I will press on and make this situation work for me. I applied for a part time position at my alma maters early learning center. Hopefully, I can work there part time and sub part time and continue to work my way to my own classroom. One thing is for sure, I am out growing my current position and becoming complacent and that's not good, so subbing should get me going. Another thing that I am certain of, is that the school that gets me is getting a mutli talented gem and I promise that school will always have my loyalty because they took a chance on little ol me!

I know this post has been all over the place but I am enjoying the ability to vent in my own little awkward way.

3 A Day Rant:

I did some cleaning today and sweated out some tension! You don’t realize how much your keeping pent up inside you until you’re given the opportunity to let it all out. 

I had the free time to do some sketching today. Oh how I love being an artist and being creative!

I am staying positive! Only good can come out of thinking positive and having a plan of action. 

Bonus: Yesterday, I went to see Pitch Perfect! I loved it for the most part; it was boring in some parts but had uber funny moments. Is that an oxymoron? Welp....
I was also asked if I was older than 17! I just turned 25, so its nice to know I still look young, it may come in handy when I am older, older like 60 or something, IDK.

Until the next time life has checked me.
T