Minnesota Trip

So this post is long overdue, but I got a new phone for Christmas and was transferring the pictures from my old phone over and found these. I thought I'd share them even if it's a little late. :)

After spending an entire night attempting to (and failing at) sleeping on a bus, we arrived at Minneapolis. We were dropped off at a beautiful hotel in the middle of the city (the same one Harvey Perlman stayed at) though so I caught a couple of hours of sleep in a comfy bed staring at this view.

On the first night in town, we went to eat with hundreds of other Husker fans and watched the live broadcast of Sports Nightly. We sat on the balcony and were given pom poms and beads.

          

The next day I headed to the stadium, ready to cheer on my Huskers. 

 

The stadium was pretty huge, especially in comparison to the Northwestern game last year and we took a few laps around it. Both to waste time and keep warm. 

We found them giving out free pancakes! 

 About an hour before kickoff, we headed to our seats. This is what the stadium looked like. A pretty sad turnout if I do say so myself. It filled up by the end of the first quarter though. Evidently these fans just don't show up 3 hours prior to the games like I'm accustomed to at Nebraska.

  

 There was an awesome view of the skyline though.

Soon our band showed up and their band performed the pre-game show. As you can see, we had absolutely no sun on our side so I was freezing. 

       

I got some "famous Minnesota cheese curds" to warm up my hands though. :) They actually were pretty good...better than the game at least.

Things You May Not Know About Me

I recently saw a trend on Facebook in which people shared things about themselves that their friends/family may not know. I thought I'd do a post like that myself.


1. I hate drinking out of straws. I think they make beverages taste funny.

2. I hum all the time and I usually don't realize I'm doing it. My parents said I used to do it while eating and I catch myself doing it randomly all the time.

3. I have been to 32 of the 50 states. Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona are among my favorites. The ones I haven't been to that I want to most are Washington and Oregon and Hawaii.

4. I'm a list-maker. I constantly write out grocery lists, to-do lists, to-read lists, lists of interesting names, lists of places I want to go, etc. It's therapeutic to me.

5. I don't wear socks or shoes at all when I'm at home. I can't stand them.

6. My favorite TV shows are Survivor and Law and Order: SVU. I've seen every episode. The Voice and Elementary are my two new obsessions though.

7. The first CD I ever remember owning was Britney Spears (Oops I Did It Again).

8. Babies really freak me out. I actually can never imagine myself having children partly for that reason. Partly because I have no maternal instincts haha.

9. I got my tonsils out a little over a week before my junior prom and my mom had to make meatloaf and mashed potatoes for my prom meal because I couldn't eat the one provided.

10. I can't win any board games or video games. Not one. But I'm not all that competitive so it's ok.

11. You can ususally tell my stress level by the cleanliness of my room. The more scattered my room, the more scattered my brain.

12. I love musicals.

13. I have O negative blood so absolutely anyone can take my blood/organs.

14. I like vegetables much better than fruits and won't eat any kind of berry.

15. I remember having lots of class pets in elementary school, including a guinea pig, parakeets, snails, and chicks.

16. I could get Lasik surgery, but the idea makes me cringe. Once in high school, we watched a video of someone getting the surgery and I felt dizzy and spent the rest of the hour in the bathroom.

17. I was born without enamel on some of my baby teeth and had to wear silver caps on them. I pulled them off twice with Jolly Ranchers. When my permanent teeth grew in, I was missing two on the bottom so I only have 26 to this day (plus one implant).

18. I played a male sheriff my sophomore year of one-act play.

19. I have never dyed or highlighted my hair.

20. Last semester, I got the lowest grade of my life in Technical Theater (B- 82.6%)

21. I sometimes shake uncontrollably when I call to order pizza but once gave a speech in front of my entire high school without breaking a sweat.

22. I am both a cat and a dog person.

23. 4 has always been my favorite number since I was born on April 4th.

24. I feel very uncomfortable being in a car when there isn't music playing.

25. This is my 59th blog post. :)

Moriah Memories

     Today, as I was driving back from Thanksgiving break, it was dark and I could see the hazy light of towns as I passed by. And a memory shot through me with a jolt.

     I was sitting next to Moriah on the bus that we had spent the last two weeks on. She had nabbed the window seat. It was probably 1 a.m. and there was haze of Kearney was before us. Her hair was squished on one side from sleeping against the window and she turned to me with sleepy eyes.
     "It's so beautiful, you know," she said.
     I had no idea what she was talking about, but I nodded wearily.
     "We've been to New York and Chicago and seen everything, but home is still beautiful"
     Now I may have the exact quote wrong, but I remember thinking she was completely right. No matter how much both of us complained about our hometowns, we both still had a special place in our heart for the places we came from.

    This past April, my mom asked me once if I had been thinking about Moriah lately and at the time I was taken aback. I hadn't thought about her for weeks probably. What a terrible friend I was. How could I have forgotten her only a year after she passed away? I just felt awful about it for quite a while. But it's moments like this, when I see city lights, flip by Snooki in a magazine, eat at Olive Garden, or scroll by her number in my phone (I still haven't been able to delete it) show me she's not forgotten. Sometimes the memories make me cry and other times they make me laugh out loud, but no matter what, she's there. She has a home in my heart. Even if I don't see her all the time.

Potato Soup

This week, I thought I'd just share I a draft I wrote a while back. It's not very polished, but it reminds me of the holidays. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving break!

My childhood tasted like potato soup. Warm, milky, homemade potato soup. On still winter days, my dad would pick Josh, Brigitte, and I up at the playground fence at school and we’d come home to a bag of potatoes sitting on the black stovetop. Potato soup was an event for my father. Instead of spending the day tinkering on equipment at the shop or projects at the house, he spent the day checking (and double-checking) to make sure he had enough milk and flour and eggs. He would buy the biggest bag of potatoes they sold at Rightway Grocery and it would sit on the stove, awaiting our arrival. My dad almost burst with pride at our shrill chants, “Potato Soup! Potato Soup!” He had waited all day for that reaction.

I was quite often the potato peeler of the family. But this wasn’t because I was an expert at it. My dad is very particular about his cooking and doesn’t accept assistance readily. What got me the job was pure persistence. I would stand in the kitchen and watch him. I’d follow him from the fridge to the stove and back again. I’d sit on the laminate floor and tell him stories about what I learned in school or ask him questions about every step of the process. One day, he opened a drawer and made a racket digging through the utensils until he pulled out a potato peeler and then handed it to me along with the bag of potatoes. I became the peeler.

After that, on potato soup days, I’d finish my homework and wash my hands and drag a chair from the dining room to the kitchen and sit next to the trash can and hack away at the potatoes. My first several batches looked more like deformed snowballs with random divots and cuts than potatoes. I still talked my father’s ear off as he made his homemade egg noodles nearby, but at least I was a shadow with a purpose.

Potato soup was always served at the table, never TV trays or laps on the couch, like many other family meals. It was spread out like Thanksgiving with cheese and crackers, salt and pepper spread along the middle of the table. My brother and I would have competitions of who could eat the most bowls. Truthfully, I don’t remember who won more often. I do remember my record was eight whole bowls, although I still don’t know how that was possible, especially when I mashed in so many crackers and cheese into each serving.

Potato soup wasn’t exclusive to our immediate family, although my dad will have you believe he makes the best in the world. Each Christmas, his extended family would also make soup, not the traditional turkey or roast beef. All ten of us grandkids would choose potato and that meal was the quietest part of the entire night, as warm milk dripped down our chins and bowls were scraped for every last morsel.

Sometimes now when it’s a day that feels cold and still, I walk home from class and know it must be potato soup day. I always want to jump in my car and make the three-hour drive just to make it so. But today, Campbell’s soup will have to do.

A Thank You to Teachers

Since it's Thanksgiving season and everyone has been posting things they are thankful for on Facebook, I thought I'd do a thankful post myself. Since I'm going to be a teacher and was influenced by many great teachers, I thought I'd take time to thank a few even though I'm not in contact with most of them anymore. These are not even close to all of my teachers, but these are the few that stick out in my mind.

I am thankful to Mr. Johnson, my 4th grade teacher. He gave me a place in school, where I never felt like I fit before. He opened up the world of writing to me and encouraged imagination. I remember reading The Bridge to Terabithia that year and writing crazy made-up stories. I looked forward to school every day because of Mr. Johnson.

I am thankful for Mrs. Sidlo, my 5th grade teacher. Although I used to call her crazy and her tactics were often a bit odd, I never liked science as much as I did my 5th grade year. I learned to read a barometer and protect an egg from the laws of gravity. I still know that a nebula is "where baby stars are born" and can find Orion on starry nights. She also taught me the value of music during math and I used that for years afterwards.

I am thankful Mrs. Duncan, my high school English teacher. She didn't leave my papers unmarked for errors or call every speech "spectacular", but what she did give me is exactly what I needed. She made me better. I always valued her advice and worked to read, write, and speak to the best of my ability. The skills I learned from her have been so valuable in my life and I will be forever grateful. Actually, her influence, and the value I placed on her class greatly affected my drive to teach Language Arts myself. I remember once I was very sick at District Speech and she was so helpful. Not only did she give encouragement, but she actually found a couch for me to sleep on and gave me some kind of gargle so I could have a voice in front of the judges. I made it to state that year because of Mrs. Duncan and she still provides me with support today whenever I need help or advice.

I am thankful for Mrs. Kahrs, my high school science teacher. I learned more in her class than absolutely any other high school class. She made us work and no one coasted through her class. I spent every class period in her room with my mind tuned in, which wasn't easy for me to do at that age. She was also a sponsor for Future Problem Solving, which was a big part of my school experience and I thank her for that. I have always respected Mrs. Kahrs and know she continues to be a fantastic leader of future generations.

I am thankful for Mr. Sidlo, my high school computer teacher. One of my college professors constantly calls me the "techie" of the class and I always know this is solely because of the guidance I received from Mr. Sidlo. I make videos, edit photos, and am unafraid to try new technology because of his class. He gave me some much freedom to explore and experiment but also was there to help and teach me new things when I asked. Some of the things I was most proud of in school were the projects I made in his class. And most of all, I had fun. Mr. Sidlo was so much fun. Thanks.

So thank you to all of my teachers and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

The Pictures in My Head

In my reading theory class we recently discussed how everyone has an inner monologue when they read. Engaged readers tell a character they are stupid or think "this is boring" or wonder what will happen or just see pictures of settings and characters. For my young adult literature course, I recently read a book called First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung and I was aware of the pictures my mind was drawing. Since I can't draw worth a darn, I tried to express that picture in my own words and used it for my composition class (yes I just combined three different classes in one project; this is how much they blend together haha). This is the short poem I wrote about the main character Loung and I thought I'd share it with you this week.

Luong tightens her right hand, tiny and blistering,

around her father’s index finger.

The world is too big and she is

too small.

Being “big for your age” doesn’t help

in this foreign land of rice fields and sky.

Bulky and awkward,

the rice bowl weighs down her left side.

She walks like a crippled person, but she has rubber soles

beneath her feet.

Not everyone is so lucky.

Beads of sweat, warm and salty, trickle

down her pale forehead

She squints at the never-ending road

with her tired brown eyes.

How long can they possibly keep walking?

If I Had $1 Million...

"If I had 1 million dollars" is such a common writing prompt. I'm sure most of you have written or at least thought about this "what if." You may have heard the songs "If I Had A Million Dollars" or "I Want to Be a Billionaire." What I've noticed is that there are some very common answers for this prompt including buying a house or a car. Since these are big ticket items, this makes a lot of sense. But, at this point in my life, I would not buy either thing. In fact, none of things I would want are material things.

So here goes. If I had a million dollars right now, I would:

1. Pay for college
2. Take family and friends on vacations as much as I could
3. Give to as many people in need as I could (not charities though, I would want to make it personal)
4. Travel by myself (study abroad, explore a new place)
5. Go to concerts, sporting events, or plays.

So many of you are thinking I'm crazy probably. Here are my justifications.
1. I'm not saying I would blow it all. I would be as smart as I could about money use.
2. I don't want to buy a house and settle in any one place.
3. I don't need a fancy car. I'm not even a good driver and would probably wreck it haha. I would travel by train and plane and bus. That way I could focus more on the scenery than the steering wheel.
4. I would give back to my parents but I know they wouldn't want me to. My dad, especially, gets more fulfillment from providing for me than receiving anything from me. They do deserve it for all they've given me though.
5. Most of my list is experiences. Life is so short. I'd rather have my feet in new places than pretty shoes. I'd rather have pictures of vacations with people I love than my new swimming pool.

So there you go, that's what I'd do with the money. Of course I don't need money to have a fulfilling life. But I can't ignore that fact that with money comes access to the world. Thanks for reading!

Optimism

In my last post, I talked a little about how we are a society of wishers. Last month, a presenter at a conference I went to said we are a county of "happily ever afters." After the speaker's trip to Great Britain, he said he realized how utterly optimistic Americans are. We end letters with "Have a fantastic day!" and say things like "You'll do better next time" after a blunder. What these thoughts have me wondering about is this: "Is optimism something to strive for?"

Maybe it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we believe things will be better tomorrow, they will be. Maybe optimism makes us happier people. I've often been told I'm pessimistic. And, like any pessimist, I always respond with "I'm just a realist." But honestly, I'm constantly trying to be more optimistic. I probably tell myself once a week to "look on the bright side." I even had a Winston Churchill quote in my bedroom at one point that said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

But the world isn't full of happily ever afters, is it? And it won't get better next time unless you do something to fix it. All through my elementary, middle school, and high school years, I was in Future Problem Solving and I always took on the task of "problem generator." Before ever solving problems, we had to identify what could go wrong with any future scenario. And I was very good at assessing a situation for problems. What I learned from that was that sometimes seeing all the difficulties in an opportunity allows you to better handle a new situation.

All of this is just food for thought. I'm not saying that optimism is bad. I'm definitely not saying pessimism is good. Sometimes the silver linings get us through the day. But maybe sometimes being the "realist" isn't so bad either.

Taking Action...A Year Later

I once again have been very behind in posting to the blog. But something exciting I just realized is that I have been writing in this blog for over a year now. 14 months to be exact. From a girl who owned dozens of journals with only the first 3 pages filled out, this really is an accomplishment. I told myself for years that I couldn't do a blog because no one wanted to read what I had to say. What I didn't realize is how therapeutic sitting down each week and writing something-anything-down would be. I also didn't realize that after 14 months, I would have 1,800 views from amazing people around me.

What I really want to reflect on after 14 months, though, is that I took action and did something after years of saying "I wish I could write a blog." We are a society of wishers. We wish on shooting stars and whenever the clock says 11:11. We pray for world peace and fantasize about knights in shining armor. We have wish bones and wishing wells. Every Christmas I make a wish list and every postcard says "wish you were here."

And sometimes wishing is all we can do. Sometimes we are played cards that can't be changed. But sometimes, we can. Sometimes the things we want are in reach if we would just try. Sometimes wishing for one thing will make us blind to something better. Sometimes the people around you need more than your wishes.

So, wish away my friends....but also act. Even if it's as small as starting a blog or taking a class. After all, "you must be the change you wish to see in the world."-Gandhi

Teaching Teachers

So I am now taking most of my classes with the same group of 21 students. All of us are learning how to be English teachers. What's so cool about working with this bunch is that you get to see all of the different teaching outlooks and methods and core beliefs. Everyone works together, but I think that we show who we are as individual teachers more each day and this is part of a poem that I scribbled one day in class when thinking about it. I decided to post it, because I'm reminding myself that all writing is important, even if it is in between doodling in an intolerably boring class. Writing is writing and it doesn't have to be perfect. "You only fail if you stop writing."-Ray Bradbury

My classrooms are full of future classrooms
Like a puzzle of somewhat mismatched pieces.
A mosaic that becomes a bit clearer
Whenever the light shines through.

I see classrooms in strictly straight lines of desks.
And I see cross-legged sharing on the floor.
I see classrooms with bright colored posters.
Classrooms with blogs and homemade movies.

My classrooms are full of voices.
All of them have something different to say.
An orchestra of teachers,
hoping to help their students in some small way.

I hear classrooms of strong, loud instruction
Classrooms of soft-worded conferences
I hear classrooms teaching inflection and tone.
And others filled with silly middle school laughter.

My classrooms are full of future classrooms. 

Dancing Panda

So, I haven't posted in a while. This semester is very hectic. But I did do a blog last week. This blog was for my composition class.  We had an assignment to take our class mascot, the dancing panda and blog about the time spent with him/her. It gives an example of blogging as a form of writing for classwork. This was the adventure I took the panda on. :)


First they greeted me like a king. I was crowned with a lei upon entering the apartment and given the most prestigious seat in the house, on top of their palm tree.

Roxie's friends adored me and kept carrying me around the house. They tried many leis on me until they found just the right color (apparently, it's blue). These girls' giddy excitement was a bit overwhelming for a little panda, but I wasn't surprised since Roxie told me they regularly watch Nickelodeon and play games in which the floor is lava. As they made a feast for my arrival, I chatted it up with a parrot and made myself at home. I was later to find out that the delicacy they prepared was actually just ramen noodles. I didn't really eat anything on the plate, but don't tell the girls.

                                                                                      
That night, Roxie tried to make me as comfortable as possible. She researched and found that pandas sleep in caves in the moutains. Although I am just a stuffed panda, she thought this arrangement might still be appropriate so she made a makeshift cave out of her pillow pet and set me up on a high cabinet. I have to say, it was one of the strangest sleeping arrangements to date, but it actually was sort of comfy.

The next day, I went to classes with Roxie. We had Reading Theory and Practice and Women in Pop Culture. Both were very interesting. Most classes I have to listen to through a muffled bookbag, but Roxie let me sit on her desk in the second class. She said I needed fresh air.

I was even able to participate in discussions with these ladies (yes, the class is entirely female) because Roxie made me do the reading the night before while she tackled Teaching for Joy and Justice.

After class, we had to run through the rain. Roxie was entirely unpreppared and got soaked. This was one of those times that being stuffed in a bag wasn't too bad of a deal. Bangs and rain don't mix, so Roxie was dripping for quite some time. She decided she needed to take me on a real adventure, so she made an impromptu trip to her sister's volleyball game 106 miles away. What a great sister! Before we could head out, Roxie needed some "Juice for the Journey" so we stopped in at Juice Stop. You might notice that Roxie's name is actually on the cup. This, and the fact that they made her a drink without her even ordering, leads me to believe she comes here a lot. I must admit the Penalty Flag was very tasty and the staff was very nice.    

                                                                                                   

And then the road trip began!

 During the trip, Roxie alternated between singing along to blaring music and sitting in silence making up poems about "sunflower ditches" and "bubble-gum sunsets." I haven't decided yet which was more annoying, but I'm leaning toward the poetry since I'm so small I couldn't even see what she was describing. Sometimes it stinks to be small. When we arrived at the game, Roxie realized she was accidently wearing the opposing team's color, which was a little embarrassing. Luckily, my colors fit in almost anywhere. I had a wonderful time at the game. Although I did get a little distracted for the actual volleyball since I was looking for good photo ops, hanging with the cheerleaders, and listening to the band.

                                                                                                                                            

Unfotunately, they lost the volleyball game, but I tried to keep Brigitte in good spirits after the game anyhow. All in all, I had a great day, exploring new places, trying new things, and meeting new friends :)

                                                                                                                             Until next time,

                                                                                                                              Dancing Panda