my bucket list (before i'm 30)

So everyone always dreams of doing amazing things within their lifetimes and write them down. I've always been a big dreamer, I've been told. When I was 4 years old, I wanted to be the president of the United States because I told mommy I thought Daddy Bush was too old and he needed a "girl helper". So now it should not surprise you that I decided to make a bucket list before I become a middle-aged woman :) . Some of these may change some way or another, but here is the "rough final draft".

Things to do before I'm Thirtyyy...
1. Run a half marathon.
2. Run a marathon.
3. Buy a new home.
4. Tie the knot with someone special.
5. Put away $10,000 for my savings account (That may be hard!)
6. Travel to South America and do something incredible.
7. Buy a slammin' new car.
8. Go on a cruise with a buddy or two.
9. Learn American Sign Language.
10. Take piano lessons (Let's see how long I stick with that)
11. Ride in a hot air balloon.
12. Go to Times Square in New York on New Year's Eve.
13. Help an orphan.
14. Visit the Pyramids in Egypt, Africa.
15. Las Vegas (Do I need an intro to this?)
16. Plant a garden.
17. Meet a celebrity.
18. Kiss someone on the top of the Eiffel Tower (If I get married before this, I will just have to settle with my husband :)
19. Go to Disneyworld and give Mickey Mouse a big hug!
20. Take a road trip with my girlfriends.
21. Help 10 strangers.
22. Take belly dancing lessons.
23. Teach in a foreign country (Somewhere in Latin America).
24. Write a children's book.
25. Get my Master's Degree in Education Administration or Educational Psychology.
26. Earn my Doctorate Degree (Who knows?)
27. Buy something from Tiffany and Co.
28. Get a makeover.
29. Lose one pant size.
30. Be in two places at once.

So there it is. There are some things up there that I know I can do and some things that are a little far-fetched. But knowing me, I will find a way to get them done somehow. Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

some people may think i'm crazy..

Wow. I can't believe how long it's been since i've posted my last entry. I've been pretty busy even though the fall semester is now officially in the past! I've been doing a lot of working with Clark (the high school kid that I tutor in English, Environmental Science, and Spanish) and dealing with crazy last-minute shoppers at Victoria's Secret. I've actually enjoyed sleeping until 11am on most days. When I first came home, my mom thought I was going to sleep my life away! Some days I would not wake up until about 4pm (and that's not even the record time--5:17pm).

Since school has been out I have been making this "bucket list" of things to do before I'm 30. Anddddd running a half marathon and a marathon are among those crazy things on my to-do list. I've decided to go ahead and start now (since I'm 20) and try to cross off about 1-3 things/year. I've made the big decision to tackle a half marathon race in Raleigh, NC on March 27, 2010. Yeah go ahead and call me crazy for doing it, but it's great for my health and it will help me to achieve a cute bod by the summer time. I've promised myself to weight myself before and after each short/long run too. Soooo, a few things that I've got to pick up before I embark on my training journey are:

1. New Running Shoes (The ones I have are about 6 years old. I've kept them since the good 'ole running days in high school. The cute light pink color that USED to be on them is now LIGHT BROWN. pretty gross? yeah, i know.

2. Update my cute ipod nano. (I know I'm going to need the motivation, so why not cure it with some good tunes? I plan on buying everything from Michael Jackson to Taylor Swift to crazy techno music)


3. Get a nice cute haircut. (If you know me, you know how much I hate my hair on my neck while I'm running. Ok, ok, ok...I mean I could just put it into a ponytail, but then the ponytail would grow and touch my neck too).

4. Build a nice support system. (I plan on telling everyone I know that I'm running a half marathon. You won't offend me if you tell me to shut up about it. I mean I'm excited about it. You should be too.)

As you can tell, I was born to be a runner. I've recently stopped running because it was wayyyy too much work to be a GOOD full-time student and a runner. I mean my academics are on my list of priorities...but why should I sacrifice my health for it and gain 10 pounds in a year? Um yeah, I did that this year. So I plan on staying ahead and even taping some of the lectures to listen on my ipod while I'm running. Not a bad idea, huh?

So lastly let me just say this. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I've always been an athlete and I've always told my parents that I was going to do this one day. But actually doing it as an undergraduate is the unbelievable part! I plan on training for the marathon goal when I graduate from grad school. I mean I'm not going to be unrealistic with myself. Until next time...love, peace, and running. I'll see you at the finish line on March 27, 2010.

It's not the end...just the beginning.

I have always hated the endings to good things...and I am really unhappy with this semester ending. I have come so far this semester as a future teacher and a student. I have really enjoyed my time as a student in my Intro to Language Arts class. I will admit I didn't have high hopes for this class at first because of the lack of good quality language arts teachers in my life. Don't get me wrong, I had a few, but not enough to brag about. But I was excited about having my advisee's faculty advisor as a professor. It simply meant we all had something in common this year :)

As you know, I have always been a chatterbox and a writer...therefore I'm pretty positive you know what my decision about the blogging is. I'm going to continue to write in my educational blog (so keep following me). It gives me a few moments to flush my academic thoughts and embrace a fresh new start for the week. I also must admit, it makes my day for my readers to add cute little comments too :) I'm glad that people actually care about what I'm learning in my classes and my reflections about it. I'm very thankful for my wonderful professor who actually came up with the idea. I believe it connected our class together in a way that no other class at Meredith College has allowed me to. I would sometimes find myself procrastinating my homework just to see if some of my classmates had posted their new blog. I was eager to see what their thoughts were on the topics covered in our previous classroom.

My favorite part of this class would definitely have to be making my own digital storybook. Thanks to my tech-savvy professor, I have finally made a way for my study abroad experiences to come to life this semester. I was a little worried about the final outcome of it at first because I had so many memories and thoughts about Costa Rica. I was truly worried about not being able to include them all without writing a novel and putting everyone to sleep. Let's just say I want to personally thank the cool person who came up with the writing process...because it saved my life with my digital storybook. I was able to successfully organize all those adventures and crazy memories!

Just a few things that I will definitely hold on to when I finally have a class of my own:
-Blogging or Journaling (It connects the teacher to the minds of the little ones)
-The Six Language Arts (It gives everyone a chance to shine when used correctly)
-The Publishing Stage of the Writing Process (I absolutely lovvveee seeing the big finale of students' work. Not to mention...It's a great self-esteem booster)

A few things I'm a little hesitant about:
-Reading Aloud to ESL students (I really do not know how to approach this one as far as book selection. I would love to choose something that everyone could understand, but the book may be too easy or boring for others. HELP PLEASE)

I just want everyone to know that really enjoyed this class. I was recently talking to my mom about how much I fell in love with the classes I was taking this semester. The reasons for them was:
1. I'm actually interested in what I'm learning now. (Thank God I'm done with that awful general education component)
2. I'm making connections with things I'm learning and reading about and taking them back into the classroom.
3. The professors and classmates that I have shared my semester with. I love you all.

In closing...go ahead and roll out the carpet for the best semester award...because my FALL 2009 classes rocked it out (shout out to all my corn-shuckers there). I have enjoyed being a part of this wonderful journey of language arts. It's not the end my friends...but just the beginning.