roses and thorns.

ok. so confession time.

it is 10:37, wednesday evening {hump day, evening?, if you will}, and i have a complete essay to write and i just cannot. we have had a little longer than a month to write this lovely essay on the equally lovely book "as i lay dying" {sarcasm on the 'lovely'? why yes. also, read the book in high school....we called it 'as i die reading'. true story. luckily with an actual qualified teacher the book made more sense this time around and was actually somewhat enjoyable. still, it had some moments of 'dying reading'. my apologies mr. faulkner} anyway and in true 'kate' fashion i have procrastinated till the end..its due next tuesday. if there is one thing i win at in life it is my procrastination skills. really, they are awesome. but anyway tomorrow is the last day my professor will read drafts and as this is worth 25% of our grade, i really think it is a good idea. plus some overachievers {slash people i wish i were right now} have already sent him 4 and 5 different drafts. seriously. i have one page down. essay: 1 kate: 0. its beating my butt. i was excited about this essay in the beginning. i actually do enjoy writing and so initially welcomed this assignment with an open heart, but now, especially after composing an email to my education class advisor discussing the 2nd grade class i teacher aid in, all i want to do is share more about that class. not discuss the characters in a.i.l.d which exude signs of heroism.

in case you did not know, i am in the teacher certification program here at gonzaga, and am currently enrolled in a class which requires a field experience where once a week i get to dress up in cute teacher clothes {including heels. splurged last week on some adorable red little heels}, and spend and hour and a half on tuesdays with little 7 and 8 year olds. the school i am at is a title one school, meaning it has many impoverished and at risk students. 61% students are on free or reduced lunches. it is a complete 180 from the elementary school i attended. many of these students do not have a steady home life; many do not even have permanent homes.

here is an excerpt from the email i sent my advisor relaying my one of my experiences with these students from the first two weeks:

...This week was just as good. The day was started with a little girl, Melina, asking what the empty milk carton was for, which was sitting on a desk. When i told her it was a penny drive for children who werein need, she said in her tiny voice, 'when i get my allowance, im going to give it all to the carton'.when i told her how nice andgenerous that was, she answered back saying how her family was 'broke' and how they had been 'broke' for a while. I then noticed the holes in her long sleeved shirt, as she mentioned she hasn't had new clothes in a while. It made such a huge impact on me, that this little girl, one, knew her family was having financial troubles, and two, still thought togive her allowance to the penny carton....

incredible right? right after that, a little boy said he was going to put a whole twenty dollars in the carton. the selfless spirit of these kids is so uplifting.

after just 2 times with these kids, they have touched me and i can say it is easily one of my most favorite times of the week, if not my favorite.

i am still not 100% sure if teaching is the career i want for myself. i still go back and forth with i don't really know what but i don't like the idea of pigeon-holing myself so soon into one career, even if it is one i know i could be extremely happy with. i feel like i need time to explore others. the problem is the education program here is so specialized i don't really have time to explore. its not a major so i have to pick a major, meet all those requirements and then meet all the requirements of the cert. program. so its pretty hectic. oh well.

anyway:

my secret dream job of the week? wedding photographer.

how cool to get to experience this every time you go to work??

found here

ok. i suppose it is time to get back to my essay. i have a feeling it is going to be a late night for me. oh joy.

also a girl in my class (college, not elementary) shared that her class (elementary, not college) went around and did 'roses and thorns' each morning: the good and bad about their previous day. so today:

rose: got a lovely late valentines day letter in the mail from my little blue devil. read it twice i loved it so much.

also. it snowed a lot. {it makes our campus look so cute}

thorn: my essay. meaning a late night and i am tired. and sick. spring break hurry up please? :)

also. it snowed a lot. {i am starting to forget what warmth feels like}

my apologies for this insane monster of a post.

again basically its for me. but then again, partly for you if you find my random procrastination influenced thoughts interesting.

love to you.

to be continued.