“The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart”-Helen Keller

The Northern Lights

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Obviously, the Northern Lights were out and about in full force (again) this past week. I was sitting at the dining room table when my roommates said someone had posted they could see them. We took a quick drive to a dark cabin and stood around watching the gorgeous show of lights dancing around the mountains. It was amazing!

This past week I have been working hard to get caught up in my classes. I feel like when I get caught up in one class, I fall behind in another one. While it has been stressful at times, I can't complain. I am learning a lot and am excited about the future.
So, I have some exciting news! I was contacted by my host teacher for student teaching. We met last Monday. I observed her class to see if I thought we would make a good pairing. I was happy to find the she is young and fun! It's a fifth grade classroom and I will be helping with Math and Science primarily. I feel as if I have been in school forever, yet I am still so nervous to be in the classroom teaching lessons. It's exciting!

This weekend is the start of spring break for me. I am proud to say that I am staying home and enjoying my break from classes. Except that I still have one class. Haha. My lovely advisor had to cancel a class earlier in the semester so we are making it up during spring break. I honestly don't mind. The class is fun and interesting. Other than that, I have been avoiding possible drama. It seems like every time I get my life on the right path someone or something tries to pull me off that path. Well not this time. I am happy. For once, I am really happy with my life and where I am headed.
Those people who try to take your happiness away are not worth the time or effort.

“Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can't love and respect yourself - no one else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are - completely; the good and the bad - and make changes as YOU see fit - not because you think someone else wants you to be different.”

Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying

(Finally got my Georgia Tech shirts in the mail!!)

My week started off pretty good when I snagged the lodge TV for a few hours on Sunday. It was the pink zone games, where the teams wear pink uniforms and shoes while they play in order to show their support for breast cancer research and awareness. Watching all the teams gave me chills. Plus the commercials with Kay Yow....call me sappy but it was all so inspiring and touching.
So there I was sitting in the lodge with my Georgia Tech shirt on, waiting for ESPN2 to show the GT game. I waited and waited but it never came. Luckily, I had my computer with me and was able to log onto ESPN3 where there was live streaming coverage of the game. Did I leave the lodge TV? NO! I sat there watching the games on both the TV and on my computer and it was heaven. (And GT won, which put me in a great mood!)

Moving right along, we are over half way through the month of February and just passed the lovely holiday of Valentines Day. My Vday was excellent! I am not sure that I have ever had a better Valentines day. Did it consist of flowers? No. Did I get chocolates from a mysteriously unknown crush. Heck no! I spent the entire day catching up on homework. I wrote a 14 page single spaced paper, then a four page single spaced paper and submitted those online. Ah the feeling of accomplishment, better than flowers or chocolate ANY DAY!
The following day, yesterday, I woke up feeling a bit under the weather. Luckily, I had a weight lifting class and was forced to get out of bed. Otherwise I may have stayed in bed all day. After class I took a trip to the store to get some Popsicles for my sore throat and some soup. Then, again, I got busy with homework. The first paper I turned in last night was 11 pages long, single spaced. The second was five pages and wasn't submitted until 12:30 AM. I did take a break to stop by the lodge with some friends and watch Glee. The show is great for a good laugh and was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, that is the reason I had to stay up so late finishing the last paper.
Today, my goal is to finish one more of these ridiculously long assignments. Then I will be completely caught up. I usually am never behind in classes but, in typical Juneau fashion, it took me longer than expected to receive my books. Part of me is tempted to take all these expensive books and burn them at the end of the semester, like a celebration for surviving. That is, IF I survive the semester.
Back to business, today I finish one more assignment. I may start on the next lesson just to get ahead, or perhaps work on homework for another class. It all depends on how long this first assignment takes to complete. At 1PM I have a meeting with SAA to talk about upcoming events. It should only last an hour at the most and I am planning on picking up some coffee along the way. It will do me some good to get out of the house. It has been gorgeous outside the past few days. I managed to get a few pictures while driving back from class:


I'm going to end on some exciting and nerve-racking news. I had my first meeting with my advisor about student teaching. He said that my file is out in the local schools and we are waiting to hear back on which teachers are willing to host me for next year. That's exciting! He covered everything that is expected of us during our year of student teaching. We will have classes while we are student teaching so it's going to be a lot to juggle. I can't wait to hear back on where I will be placed. Praying that I get a great host teacher!