Living a Dream

Life is good; not great, as there are always some obstacles to work through, but definitely good. A few weeks ago I had the most wonderful experience I could imagine. I got to experience one of my dream vacations: New York City. To say that it was amazing would be putting it lightly. I had a blast and was finally able to forget all my troubles and the obstacles I face at home. It was a true blessing. :)

We arrived in New York City on Sunday, but our room was not ready so we walked around the city. We walked up and down Madison Avenue where a giant market days event was occurring. Many vendors, lots of fun stuff to buy and lots of food. It was great. We also made our first, yes only first, trip to Saks Fifth Avenue (the closest thing to a shoe-lover's heaven on Earth!). We finally got into our room, on the 31st floor ,which over-looked Central Park! We went to eat and then took a carriage ride around Central Park. Not bad for the first day. On Monday, we woke up bright and early (5:30) and walked to Rockefellar Plaza to watch The Fray perform live. Oh yea, and we were on the Today Show as well. No big deal. We also took a tour of downtown Manhattan and travelled to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building which was quite amazing. Then we toured some more and went back to the hotel.

On Tuesday, we toured uptown Manhattan and Harlem then went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We aren't much of art enthusists, but we had fun. Later that day we went to Time Square and Macy's. On Wednesday we had a long, but fun day. We finally got to say the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island and went to a Broadway show! We saw Wicked which was fabulous despite the disappoint of the book it originates from. As we were walking home from the show, we got to see Time Square at night! Thursday was our day with Dad, so we went to the American Museum of Natural History, which has an amazing dinosaur wing! We also walked through Central Park and just enjoyed our last night in New York City.

The trip was far too short, but completely amazing and just what I needed. Now, I am back in College Station having as much fun as possible. I just moved into a house with some friends and love it so much more than living in an apartment. I am also working on completing my requirements for my teacher certification program. I received my test scores from my certification exam earlier in the week; I passed with flying colors.

I will be graduating in December (less than 5 months, oh my) and will student teach in the spring. In May, I will be a fully certified teacher and will begin my masters studies in the summer. I will complete my masters over the next few years while I teach high school English. I am so excited for this next year. I can't wait to make some fabulous new memories! :)

-Tracey

Instant Gratification

In two words, I was able to sum up the difference between younger and older generations of today. Younger generations, mine for example, want instant gratification in everything we do, yet we rarely achieve it. Today, I got the blessing of feeling true instant gratification while reinforcing that I am doing what I was meant to do. I have chosen the perfect career path in being a teacher and a school psychologist.

At Sylvan on Monday, I was given a student that I had never worked with before. This student is a regular at Sylvan, so I had seen him and noticed his behaviors. He was odd, and something was just a little different about him, but since I had never worked with him, I was unaware of what this difference might be. He would randomly start yelling or singing during class and I noticed that he was often difficult to keep on task. I didn't know what to do with this student but decided I would do what I thought was best and try a variety of strategies to keep him focused and motivated.

Well, the hour was just awful. I was having a bad day and couldn't connect with the students, they were having an off day and couldn't stay focused. I left work feeling completely unproductive and like I had just wasted precious time with those students, this one little boy in particular. At the end of the hour his dad approached me. He said he had noticed my struggles with his son. I mentioned that it was difficult to get work out of him today and the father said he figured today would be a bad day for the boy. "Oh, and you did know he is autisic, right?" Well, obviously I didn't know this. I had never worked with an autistic child before so I really had no idea what to do. I thought about this a lot for the next few days. Here I am, planning to get a PhD in school psychology to help students with reading and learning disabilities, which could very well include autistic children. I was given the opportunity to put my skills to the test and I failed. Is this really the career for me? Will I be able to help these students and make a difference in their lives so they can be successful? I have been pondering these questions for the past few days, and really haven't been able to come up with an anwer for them. I got my answer tonight.

Tonight, I was teaching and was given the same little boy at my table. I'll be honest, I was really nervous to see him again. I told myself that I was a good teacher and just to do my best to help him. It would work. I worked really hard with him, asking him to help me understand the reading passages and complicated words, while helping him decipher words unknown to him. To my astonishment, we succeeded in completing five assignments. I have never been more proud of a student or my own teaching abilities. Before he left I said, "Go outside and tell your dad that you completed five assignments tonight," in my most excited voice. He looked so pleased with himself and skipped outside. A few minutes later he and his dad left, both smiling. The success of that little boy, the smile on his face and the overwhelmingly good feeling I had was my instant gratification. It told me that I have definitely picked the right career. I will be able to make a difference in the lives of children struggling with reading and learning disabilities, and most importantly, I will be happy every day of my life. I can't place this feeling into words, it's that good.

Instant gratification may be difficult for most people to experience in their careers, but I am blessed enough to get to feel it every day. :)

-Tracey

New Travels, New Home, New Beginnings...

*SIGH* That felt good. July is finally here and with it comes many new adventures for me. First of all, I will be taking a trip to New York City; a place I have wanted to visit since I was very young. The busyness, intrigue and chaos interest me and I am ready to become part of this never-ending city.

Secondly, I will be moving out of my apartment (that I am not very fond of) into a house! In preparation for the move, I am desperately trying to consolidate and down-size my belongings. In three years and three moves, this down-size has never occurred. Therefore, I have accumulated a lot of junk that I really don't need. The mantra is: if I haven't used it in the last month, it's gone. :)

With many new adventures coming toward me, I am excited for the future. This next year is my senior year (well, semester really) and will prove to be exciting. Graduate school will be challenging but will provide me with the knowledge I need to pursue my dreams. I look forward to and anticipate many new people coming into my life as some people have left my life.

New beginnings may be somewhat scary, but they are worth every risk and create amazing memories as they become part of the past.

-Tracey