A Sister’s Confidence In Me (I’m posting some old ones today…)

I had the wonderful opportunity to stay with my sister and her family for a week. Granted it was a babysitting gig, but when the kids just spend the day playing, there’s not much I have to do other than break up fights and know how to staunch bleeding. Plus my mom came with me so we had better odds. And because my mom was with me that means I got to go a couple places with my sister, including to the guest speaker at the writers conference she was attending. My sister is a serious writer. She devotes time to it, scheduling a babysitter on a regular basis so she can have some writing time. She’s working on a few novels. I mean this chic is legit! I also like to write, I did it a lot growing up, mostly poetry. I found a love for short stories and personal essays in college, but also had my ego smashed by a less than supportive graduate student that taught the writing class I took. *grumble*
Back to my sister. When she took me to this conference she wanted me to meet the women in her writing group. They all write young adult fiction and one has published a few books. I was enjoying basking in my sisters shadow, following, her from place to place, and then she introduced me. “this is my sister Amanda, she’s a teacher and a writer.” Excuse me?! A writer? I wanted to deny it, but any attempts that I made were squashed by my sister’s insistence.
So. I’m a writer?
This idea stayed with me for a few weeks and I realized how happy it made me, and how much I had been longing to write again, but just didn’t see the point. I picked up a pen and started writing. Poems for now, since they were what I was most comfortable with when I wrote before, but I hope to get back to writing stories again. And because you read my blog, and I’m assuming you do since you are reading this, you will be exposed to my rebirth in writing. I will be posting the occasional piece on here from time to time just to feel justified in both writing and in keeping a blog, because let’s be honest, I don’t have much to write about. I’m a country song right now, lost my home, my job, my partner. I just have to have someone die and I’ll be right on course! Sorry. Morbid humor. But you have been warned, so consider yourself as such.

So i have spent this summer in a long battle with the employment monster trying to get a job. i want to be a teacher. no i am a teacher. and i'm going to toot my horn and say i'm a pretty bad ass teacher. granted i haven't had my own classroom yet to prove that but i know it's what i'm supposed to do. i've had so many random jobs, and random majors, but this was the most confident i have been about my abilities in a long time.
it's actually gotten pretty pathetic. the other day i was walking down the school supply aisle at my friendly neighborhood walmart and i literally started crying. i just looked at all the things that my students might need, things that might be hard to supply or that kids will forget. i just thought about what i could do for the kids, what needs i could fill and how thrilled i would be to help them out in any little way.
well guess what? i finally have that opportunity. i have a job. a teaching job. i'm in a middle school teaching language arts to 7th and 8th graders in a school full of the craziest teachers ever. i walked into an assembly today to the sound of drums and the SRO and the principal are jamming on a couple of drum sets. seriously! i was dying! there is so much energy and i'm hoping as soon as i get my bearings i can add to that energy.
so here we go, onto the next stage of my life. i think this is the one that i actually have to grow up and be pretty responsible. thank goodness i am in a school that will let me keep playing!

Oh my goodness! I've made a blog!

I'm not sure why i chose to do this at this point. Some gross fascination with myself probably. That and i'm pretty sure I need to work on my writing skills and what better way than publishing all my blaring errors on the internet?!

A few things that this blog will contain:
1. lots of elipses... i love them!
2. a lot about my little girl. A lot.
3. some views and opinions that are probably not yours, most of them will be mine.
4. stories from my classroom. assuming i will get one some time soon...

And i don't know what else. That's what is so exciting! Or what i'm thinking will be exciting. i'm just trying to break myself of my facebook quiz habit, it's pretty bad.