Recently ...

My mom and brother spent last week in Fort Worth with me. We shopped, enjoyed lots of great restaurants, went to a Rangers game, and just enjoyed hanging out together.

Today was the first day back on the job ... and it was great! It was good to see some teachers that I hadn't seen all summer. We have a new principal, who I think is going to be great on our campus. I love her enthusiasm, optimistic attitude, and the new ideas that she is bringing to our school. Let's get the year started!! :)

TOO LONG!!

So, I haven't posted anything in way too long ... 4 months to be exact. Better not let that happen again!

Summer has been great! I decided I couldn't handle this summer being the same as last summer ... too boring! Yes, I love getting a break. However, 10 weeks off with not much to do can be depressing sometimes. So, I taught summer school for 4 weeks, spent some time in Austin, helped with my sister's baby shower, spent a weekend with friends at the river, and have now started getting back into school mode ... somewhat :) My classroom is pretty much finished! yay! I'm hoping for some super sweet kiddos this year, or at least ones that I can train to become that way! I'm going to go into this year very optimistic and positive :)

Spring Break!

Spring Break was AWESOME. Two of my best friends ran in the Rock n Roll Dallas Half Marathon last Sunday. It was such a neat event to watch. It was so awesome to see how excited everyone was as they crossed the finish line. The race was to raise money for the Susan G Komen foundation, so many people were running in memory of a loved one. Couples were running together, brothers and sisters were running together. They even let small children through the fence at the end to cross the finish line with their mom or dad. Makes me want to train for a half marathon. Then ... I think again. I think I'll stick with cheering my friends on and taking pictures. Running a couple of miles is about as much as I like to do!

On Wednesday, I went to San Marcos to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday. I am pretty sure she rang it in the way you're supposed to when you become legal. I spent the next few days in Austin and had a blast. Ate alot of wonderful food, went on a hike and wondered if I would make it out alive, went to South by Southwest, hung out with some great friends, drank alot of beer, and then ate some more. Austin was definitely a good time :)

So, it's back to the real world tomorrow. Back to getting up early, teaching students strategies to pass the TAKS test that's in 2 weeks, eating healthy, and working out. Yay? Okay, well at least we can start the countdown to summer, which is in 11 weeks. And that's a definite yay!

Lately ...

Lately ... I have been counting down the days until Spring Break. Not because I hate my job, not because I'm sick of my kids, but because I'm so excited for nicer weather, hanging out with friends, and not really having an agenda. Just going with the flow and lovin' it! I will hang here in Fort Worth, spend a day or two in Dallas, a day in San Marcos, and a few days in Austin. Guess I'll be making my rounds.

Lately ... I have been reminded that I have some absolutely wonderful friends. The ones that you know you can count on no matter what. The ones that will genuinely help you in any way that they can. The ones that make you see a side of something that you didn't see before. I got to spend some time with a dear friend this past weekend. We could talk forever. She helped me look at some hard situations in a whole new light, and I'm so grateful. Where would we be without friends?

"Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we know that when the tears fall and the smiles spread across our face, we'll come to each other, because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point that we're not still friends."

Lately ... I have still been working out quite a bit and am loving it. As hard as it is to go to the gym after teaching all day, once I'm there, I feel so great. A good run, for me, is about as energizing as having 3 or 4 cups of coffee. I'm not training for any marathons, or trying to lose 20 pounds, I'm just doing it to feel good! And it's working! Okay, maybe the fact that summer is right around the corner does help with the motivation :)

Lately ... I have been busy. I have been working hard and working out. I have been hanging out with friends and loving it. I have gained new outlooks on situations and continued to remember "nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." Life is good :)

SNOW!

It snowed ALL day at school on Thursday. I have windows in my classroom so I had the blinds open all day and it was so pretty! The kids begged me to go outside, and as much as I wanted to, I knew it would be total chaos plus some frostbitten feet and hands. As much as they said, "No, Miss Senter, we won't have any snowball fights!" I think we know how that one would have ended up. I mean, they are only 10 & 11. Well, we recently watched a video on one of the battles of the American Revolution. Washington's troops were fighting at Valley Forge during the winter. They showed one of the soldier's feet, which was completely black, frostbitten from the snow because of the lack of good boots. They then took him and amputated the foot. I used this video to my advantage and reminded my kids that this could happen to them if we went outside in the snow. Mean of me? Nah, don't think so.

It snowed so much on Thursday that school was canceled on Friday. Most school districts up here were. I bet the people in the northern states look at us and laugh. They go to school in severe blizzard conditions. That's okay though, Texans aren't as experienced for this cold weather. If it's under 50 degrees, we freak out. I'm very much looking forward to the spring and summer weather. Flip flops, shorts, Spring Break, happy hours on the patio, river trips with friends, and of course, no more pastey white bodies. Bring on the warm weather!

Young Minds

So, while teaching Social Studies, I'm also trying to teach my students how important it is to go to college and earn a degree so that they can get a good job later on in life. I asked, "class, how much money do you think I make a month?" Hands shot up in the air so fast! "$420, $20, $500" were all among the guesses my students said. Not one got anywhere near the correct amount. I started to write on the board the following: Rent, electricity, internet, cell phone, water, cable, car, insurance, groceries etc. I continued by writing the approximate amount of each bill beside the correct name. Their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe it. "Now class, do you see the importance of working hard in school so that you can have a good living?" "Do you understand how hard your parents have to work to support you?" I hope that lesson had a little bit of impact on them. Yesterday, I asked "what do you think about government in general?" One boy said "there should be no goverment, taxes are too high! This weekend I bought something and it was $10 more than what the pricetag said because of the tax." All his mind thought about was the extra money he had to pay in tax. He never mentioned how chaotic things would be, or what our society would be like without specific rules to follow.

Young minds. Most of my students do not yet understand the aspects of the real world and how it operates, but should they? How long do we keep minds young and sheltered? When does a kid stop becoming a kid and need to know about "real life" issues? Should a 10 year old be responsible for certain things? Yes, of course. They need to be responsible for their school work, for being respectful, for their chores. But where do we draw the line? I remember being 10. My mom always said "just wait til you have to pay your own bills!" as I would beg her to please let me get an Abercrombie tshirt. I look back now and understand, I had not a clue about money costs, or bills, or insurance. Boy, how times have changed!

My conclusion: we need to inspire and encourage kids to work hard to become successful, while letting them be "real life" free for as long as possible. Because as we know, when "real life" responsibility hits, it usually hits pretty hard.

"We must view young people not as empty bottles to be filled but as candles to be lit."

Change

Ever wondered where you're meant to be or where you're going to end up? What your true purpose in life is? I ponder this often. Am I doing what the Lord has planned for me? Then I remember it comes down to trust and faith. I have been in Fort Worth about a year and a half now and it has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding changes in my life. Leaving behind college friends, my family, everything that was comfortable to me was very hard. However, I have learned so much about myself and how new doors will open that I never thought possible. I have a job where I am constantly reminded how blessed I am and how hard I can work to positively influence, and maybe even change, some 10 and 11 year old's lives. Teaching them values, morals, how to be optimistic, and many times how to overcome what they have seen growing up. Through all of my changes, thus far, I have learned it's not about worrying where you're supposed to be or what you're supposed to be doing; it's about making the most of every opportunity and trusting that you are right where you are meant to be at this point in your life because let's face it -- life is good and God is so good.