Getting by...

The Snake Road (Highway 83) is one of two routes that connects the North Shore to the rest of the island. I drive this road to and from school every day. In the mornings, my mind's too occupied with the many tasks of the day that lie ahead, so I rarely get a chance to peak at my rear view mirror to admire the gorgeous views of the ocean. But on the way home, usually around sunset, I'm treated to an incredible sight that instantly removes all stress and anxiety. Looking down on the Pacific and the small towns of Waialua and Haleiwa from the winding road above, I remember how lucky I am to be living in this little piece of paradise.

I went and cashed my second paycheck yesterday, and I sadly realize that I was making more money up at the Ridge working about 1/4 the time and putting in about 1/100 the effort that I'm putting in now with this teaching gig. But I'm starting to figure things out, slowly but surely. It's no longer a question of IF I'll be able to do this, but now HOW WELL. Which I feel is a huge step. For a while I was feeling pretty outmatched, which I'm not too used to.

Teaching is still a great challenge, but the unique experience that is every single day in my classroom cannot be topped. There's always something absolutely nuts going on and a lot of the time I can't help but just laugh it off. My kids are crazy (sometimes literally), but I enjoy every single one of them and can't help but smile when I see them. If you don't like the your kids, that's when you're in trouble.

Lately I've been look back at TFA Institute in Houston, which at that point was the hardest five weeks of my life. But now, all of that seems like a cakewalk. My kids were angels who already knew most of the material, I only taught one 50 minute class each day, and I had a great group of five people to collaborate with to create good lesson plans. Now it's all me, and SPED is a whole new level of challenging. But it's also a whole new level of rewarding as well, and I'm starting to see that as my students begin achieving even the slightest bit. I know I was put here for a reason, and I know that this is where I belong.

I still live for the weekends since you can't beat a weekend up here. Last weekend I went on a hike into a Jurassic Park-like jungle and jumped off a waterfall. I also did some free diving (deepwater snorkeling) with Gonzaga's own Kyle Bond, and we saw a sting ray and a moray eel. We also perfected the risky yet exhilarating art of arch-diving- that is, swimming down and through underwater arches.

The key to arch-diving is to be calm and not panic. If you exert too much energy on the way down or when you're swimming through the cave, you'll run out of air and get into some trouble. But if you're calm and steady, you'll get through fine.

This should be Teach For America Hawaii's motto.