TFA Madness
The strange tune of my phone alarm jolts me from a deep sleep. I grab the phone and glance at the time.
7:15
"(insert any word that I can in no way put on this blog)!"
How did I sleep in this late?
Where's my roommate?
What am I going to wear?
Will I make it down to the bus in time for school?
What time does the bus leave again?
I'm completely out of it. I realize that the bus, as it has every single day for the past five weeks, has departed for YES Prep at 6:33 a.m. sharp. Without me. I'm about 45 minutes too late, and I'm not even dressed yet...
...but as I begin to finally regain consciousness, things start to fall into place. Sure, it is 7:15. But it's 7:15 IN THE EVENING. An hour earlier, I had decided to take a brief nap. I didn't miss the bus. I still have about 12 hours to catch it. Everything's going to be okay. I hang my pants and shirt back up and sit down on my bed. My heart's pounding and I try to take deep breaths.
It's moments like this that show how much TFA absolutely owns me. During the 20 hours each day that I'm awake, I devote 90 percent of my time to lesson planning, teaching, and info-sessions. When I sleep, I dream about my class and what I need to do the next day. Institute, you win.
The good news is that I've passed this challenge in top form. Two days left. Though I still don't feel nearly prepared enough to teach Special Ed in less than a month, I did what I had to do here in Houston, and I did it well. I have a little confidence and a little swagger (but a whole lot more humility) built up for the next challenge, and I'm definitely going to need it.
When I walk away from Moody Towers and the University of Houston on Sunday for the final time, I will breathe one of the biggest sighs of relief that I've ever breathed. I don't even think I'll turn back to wave goodbye. There are only a few things that I'll truly miss about Institute. I'll miss the people I worked with, including my fellow CMs and advisers who helped me build my skills as a teacher. I'll miss the fitness center, which was awesome. I'll miss the 'za at the cafeteria, because it was surprisingly good. But most importantly, I'll miss my 28 students, because the 50 minutes I spend with them each day makes all of the other stuff- the countless (and often repetitive) info sessions, the TFA jargon, the questionable living facilties, and the tireless work- more than worth it. They're the reason I hop out of bed every morning when the alarm blares in my ear way too early.
It sounds crazy, but maybe I woke up this evening thinking it was morning because I WANTED it to be.
7:15
"(insert any word that I can in no way put on this blog)!"
How did I sleep in this late?
Where's my roommate?
What am I going to wear?
Will I make it down to the bus in time for school?
What time does the bus leave again?
I'm completely out of it. I realize that the bus, as it has every single day for the past five weeks, has departed for YES Prep at 6:33 a.m. sharp. Without me. I'm about 45 minutes too late, and I'm not even dressed yet...
...but as I begin to finally regain consciousness, things start to fall into place. Sure, it is 7:15. But it's 7:15 IN THE EVENING. An hour earlier, I had decided to take a brief nap. I didn't miss the bus. I still have about 12 hours to catch it. Everything's going to be okay. I hang my pants and shirt back up and sit down on my bed. My heart's pounding and I try to take deep breaths.
It's moments like this that show how much TFA absolutely owns me. During the 20 hours each day that I'm awake, I devote 90 percent of my time to lesson planning, teaching, and info-sessions. When I sleep, I dream about my class and what I need to do the next day. Institute, you win.
The good news is that I've passed this challenge in top form. Two days left. Though I still don't feel nearly prepared enough to teach Special Ed in less than a month, I did what I had to do here in Houston, and I did it well. I have a little confidence and a little swagger (but a whole lot more humility) built up for the next challenge, and I'm definitely going to need it.
When I walk away from Moody Towers and the University of Houston on Sunday for the final time, I will breathe one of the biggest sighs of relief that I've ever breathed. I don't even think I'll turn back to wave goodbye. There are only a few things that I'll truly miss about Institute. I'll miss the people I worked with, including my fellow CMs and advisers who helped me build my skills as a teacher. I'll miss the fitness center, which was awesome. I'll miss the 'za at the cafeteria, because it was surprisingly good. But most importantly, I'll miss my 28 students, because the 50 minutes I spend with them each day makes all of the other stuff- the countless (and often repetitive) info sessions, the TFA jargon, the questionable living facilties, and the tireless work- more than worth it. They're the reason I hop out of bed every morning when the alarm blares in my ear way too early.
It sounds crazy, but maybe I woke up this evening thinking it was morning because I WANTED it to be.
posted by Daniel T at 10:27 PM
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