Bucket List #6 - CHECK

I created a bucket list for the next year of my life - August to August. This weekend I accomplished #6: Hike the Virgin River Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah.
And here is what I have to say about it:

Don't be scared. The hike is easy. It's only called a hike because you need to wear hiking shoes or tennis shoes, carry a back pack and use a walking stick.

Yes, you need a walking stick. Probably 70% of the hike is through the Virigin River, and at times it is above the waist and swift, but if you have good shoes and a walking stick, it is more like a "nature walk" through the water.

The views are amazing! But this is not a "hike" for people who hate being wet.

P.S. Who said it was okay for 65 year old men and women to hike in their bathing suits only? Oh, well, good for them for having no inhibitions, I guess? :D

Retraction

My school district (after receiving a lot of harrassment) has decided all students in the district will watch the Obama speech during an assembly this week.

Teaching Students to be Anti-Obama

I am disconcerted that the school district I work for didn't allow Obama's speech to be viewed in school today. I'm not an Obama lover or hater, but I think not allowing it to be shown in school is sending a message to our students that they should not trust or respect our president.

I got a tattoo

Okay, so it was a fake one, but it was so fun!

My friends called up two weeks before school started and said let's go to L.A. I said okay! We went to Disneyland, stayed with my friend Krista in Hunington Beach and got fake tattoos, and laid out at the beach, ate gelato, checked out cute boys, and went window shopping. It was such a fun weekend away!

My tattoo is of a Roman gladiator (I have been penchant for all things Italian ever since I kissed a cute Italian man in Rome, but that is another story!) My friends got little tattoos on their backs, but I said, go big or go home! :D It was only a couple of dollars and we got them right on the beach. It felt fun to feel a little wild and scandalous. Ah, the secret life of the conservative, Utah school teacher! :D Oh, and the water was so warm and beautiful! Too bad I'm back to work now!

Forever Plaid, apparently

One fall fashion I cannot fall for this year is plaid. Do you remember all the plaid and flannel we wore in 8th and 9th and 10th grade? Did we want to look like loggers and farmers? (No offense to farmers since I come from a farm family).

All over Macey's and everywhere else everything is coming up plaid, plaid, plaid. Sure the cuts are a little different, but I just cannot do it! My evidence that it is just too soon to bring back plaid: I flipped on the t.v. today while grading papers and Stephanie on Full House is wearing a plaid farmer shirt with a black ribbon chocker. It's just too soon!

It's About Time

I love the church's old ad spots from the 80's where "it's about time."

I have been thinking a lot about the languages of love lately because of an article I read about the challenges in the various stages of marriage. The author said one challenge that occurs in the newly wed stage of marriage is figuring out how to love one another. He said it is typical human nature to love someone the way you want to be loved, and not necessarily the way they need to be loved. The challenge then is to find out the way your spouse needs to be loved and love them accordingly - which he said in turn is cyclical and will lead to you being loved the way you need to be loved in return.

I have been experimenting with a few different guys and trying to find out what works. I tried to identify the way they treated me - to see if that is the way then that they want to be treated. It has been interesting and I have a few stories.

But what I really have been doing I think is identifying the ways I need to be loved and I have figured out I am a verbal, but also, a "time" person. I have spend a lot of time with different people this summer and recently with my family, and I think that just spending time with someone/people I care about is what makes me feel loved and what makes me love them more. I don't necessarily need gifts or to have people do service for me, but when someone spends time with me, listens to me, and we enjoy ourselves even doing "nothing" together that is really fulfilling for me. And I think that although we all have our different love languages, gifts, praise, service, touch, ect., I think spending time with one another is so important if at all possible. It does seem to be, at least for me, about time.

On an ending note, one of my favorite songs from Keith Urban has this line in it: "I'll earn your trust by making memories of us." Romantic right?

Memorable Mediterranean Trip 09

(If you want to see more pics I have a folder of different pics on my facebook).

1. Riding donkeys along the cliffs in Santorini.
2. Eating Greek, Turkish, & Italian food in little resturants.
3. Trying to zip all over the little island of Myknonos, Greece on a 4-wheeler.
4. Avoiding the naked men at Super Paradise Beach, Mykonos.
5. Smoking a water pipe (really just water)in Istanbul with the locals.
6. Stand up toilets in Turkey.
7. Hearing the calls to prayer, and seeing the covered women in Turkey.
8. Shopping for pottery at the Grand Bazar.
9. Seeing the Parthanon, Ephesus, the Coliseum - favorite historical sites.
10. Pompeii.
11. Almost missing the boat in Turkey, and the subway breaking down in Athens.
12. Riding on a pickpocket's motorbike in Napoli.
13. Real Italian pizza in Napoli.
14. Going out to dinner with good looking Italian men in Rome.
15. Jumping on the bed and flooding the bathroom/bedroom in our hotel room.
16. Being asked if I was from Russia or China, being called Amy Lee and Ginger Spice, and men proposing to me on the spot for my red hair.
17. The blue tiles in the harem at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul.
18. Witnessing the ceremony/celebration of a 10 year old the day before his circumscision.
19. The warm, blue Aegean sea.
20. All the people we took the time to talk to, have show us around, eat with, and learn stories from; you really learn about a country from its people.

Off to Greece!

My old passport served me well: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Mexico. Now it's time to break in the new one! I won't be posting for a few weeks (not that I have been very regular lately) because I will be in Greece and Turkey! I'll post pics when I get home! I promise I will keep my money safe and not get kidnapped and sold into white slavery. :D But if I do--I'll have some good stories for you!

Pete's Christmas Miracle

I had a little mini-Christmas miracle yesterday and I thought I would share. I bought a new/used car a month ago (his name is Pete) and it is was just a few miles under its manufacturer's warranty when I discovered the air conditioning sporradically would decide not to work. I rushed it to the dealership 25 miles inside the warranty and they insisted nothing was wrong with it. Every time they turned on the air conditioner it worked fine. So after 3 days of having my car on their lot they said, sorry, it is working fine. After asking my dad to call the dealership because I was sure they didn't believe me because I am a female - and they kindly extended my ticket/warranty for 2 days. Monday I drove my car 150 miles up to SLC then to Park City, all around hoping it would break and that I could drive it to the dealership broken so they would believe me and fix it for free. Nothing happened. It wouldn't break! My parents kept telling me to have faith and pray and I thought - pray for my car to break down? This is a mechanical machine, is the Lord going to make my car break down? So after an entire day of driving knowing my warranty would expire the next day I sent a few frustrated prayers to Heavenly Father. I hate when I break down in frustration and feel like a Laman and Lemuel. Well, Tuesday I got up and drove to the temple to do a session in AF because Provo is closed for cleaning, resloved that the Lord was just not going to answer that prayer - wasn't going to make my car break down at will. A few miles from the temple in AF my air conditioning broke again and I prayed all the way back to Provo on the freeway it would stay broken until I reached the dealership. And it did! The mechanic was able to bring out another guy and they looked at it and in amazement realized I was right. 5 minutes later after they wrote up the work ticket it starting working again. The Lord made my car break down for me just long enough....and you might be skeptical, but I call it a Christmas miracle in June!

Remind Yourself You Are SINGLE

Love the line from While You Were Sleeping: "Do yourself a favor and remind yourself you are single and just end the conversation!" So -- I am going to give you married people some advice. Remind yourself you are married and feel blessed today - despite the money issues and the diapers and carpets that just got spit up on. Remind yourself you are married and enjoy it.

Why do I feel like passing on that bit of advice? D-T-R. Remember those? How about premature DTRS from crazy boys who should realize that dating me would basically change their world forever? :D Okay, toning down the sarcasm. But really, seriously, I know being married is not easier than being single - you are right - it is probably harder, but think for me, just think, just go down memory lane and remember for me the feeling of D.T.R.

On a lighter note, I just hiked Angel's Landing last weekend in Zions and it was so scarey and I made it! And I am proud of myself, and if I can climb that high, scary mountain - I can handle anything a boy or two can throw my way, right? Right.

Teachers Make a Difference

Graduation this year was bittersweet. My first set of kids that I have seen all through their high school career - that were sophomores the first year I taught and then I taught again as juniors and a few that I have taught as seniors graduated last week. I will miss those kids. They were the ones excited about me when I was their brand new teacher and were still the nicest kids to me in the hallways this past year. I think I went through a little withdrawl the last week of school when they were not there!

Anyway - on their exit survey 5 seniors said I was the teacher that had made the biggest difference in their lives. This is what they said (anonomously):

"I had her English class she pushed me on my essays and perfected them. She believed I had a lot of potential. I wrote the best essays ever, learned a lot."

"For teaching me that even though it may be hard, honesty is always best."

"Had been both a great teacher and a great friend."

"She always pushed me to become my best in a positive way. She helped me learn how to express myself through words. She is a great teacher."

"Was a great teacher and friend I loved being around her, she's great."

Five might be a small number of lives to change, but I really was touched by these comments--it was a rewarding moment for me as a teacher!

Bumble Bee Problems

I am outside my house checking my oil and the hottest man in all of Provo comes over and asks if I need help and I don't, but he helps anyway and while we are standing there chatting (me holding up the hood of my car), a big old bumble bee comes flying around me and won't leave me alone and must like my deoderant because it is flying around my arm pit / area and I'm trying not to scream, and am whimpering a little and trying to hold still and said hottest man in the neighborhood says with a chuckle that he would swat the bee away for me but it is in a precarious position (which it was): Embarassing Moment.

Nothing to Say!

I haven't written because there is nothing to say! School gets out on May 29 and I'm hanging on! Trying to get the kids to write research papers! Freedom is in sight.

PUNKED

Okay--not quite, but close enough. Yesterday I had one of the weirdest experiences of my teaching career, or one of the most devious anyway. So I was caught after lunch in the hallway by a group of boys all dressed up in suits and ties. They were doing an assignment for the TV Broadcast class about dating. They said, "Oh, here is Ms. E, let's interview her!" So I stoped in the hallway, smiled for the camera, and answer their questions, 'Yes, I think dating is an important social skill to learn....' and I didn't realize what they were doing until they asked me if I was dating anyone and I was like oh,no! They proceeded to ask me how I felt about the single male teachers at the school and then to make a long story short--they caught me on camera saying, yes, I would go on a date with Mr. W if they set me up with him and paid for it! WOW. So yeah, caught on camera saying I would go out with Mr. W. that was a whole new level of deviousness from my students. They have tried daily for the last year + to get he and I hooked up. Turned out they were not dressed up for TV Broadcasting but their soccer game. And then they took their "evidence" that I would go out with him to Mr. W. Yeah. Wow.

Women Need Women

As I have gotten older I have realized something. It does you no good to hide your imperfections and the trials you are going through from your close friends--because we all have hardships and we need the comfort and help we receive from sharing with each other.

It's funny how when you are younger you think if you never let anyone know your trials everyone will think you have a perfect life. And maybe they will--but most of us know we are all seceretly going to things~. And it can be easy to see the successes of others and feel like we have gotten a bum rap in some ways. But I love how Elder Maxwell says we are all given trials relatively equally--they are just different. And I love how Elder Holland says that just because God is smiling at one person--does not mean He is therefore frowning at you--.

I have tried my whole life to hide my imperfections from others--but guess what? I know you can all see them--and love me anyway. And my current huge issue of getting old and single--guess what? Not something I can hide. Is it hard sometimes, yes. Am I still happy about my life? Yes.

I read a funny Hallmark card the other day that said "Friends are the people who know everything about you and love you anyway!" So true.

I think women are a gift to each other because we have the sensitivity to share and help and genuinely care about one another. I'm thankful for all of my good friends--and here is to being good enough friends to really talk to each other and share and help one another!

In 30 + Years I Hope I

look like Helen Mirren.


Have you ever just seen yourself in a movie? Seen a character and the way they are written and dressed and knew it was you? I had that odd experience watching Inkheart a few weeks ago at the $ movie.

I am going to be Aunt Elinor in 30 years. She was quirky, wore too much makeup had extravagent yet artistic clothing, had too many books, and no patience for children, but was completely loveable. She goes on world-wide adventures through her books, and ends up helping save the day afterall. If I don't get married--that is what I am on the fast-track to being! I actually thought she was very endearing as a character--and I hope so--because that character in Cornellia Funke's book--is the future me! :D I hope I would be that beautiful at over 60 too! And please love me when I am a single old woman hiding in my very large library! :D

Who have you seen yourself as in a movie?

Lessons from a FOB Concert

Fall Out Boy
1. Don't wear tank tops. When you are having to have too much forced bodily contact at a sweaty concert--really, nobody wants to feel your sweaty arms and shoulders.

2. Don't wear flip-flops. You will get your meet trampled on by the moshing you will inadvertantly gets yourself smooshed into at least once.

3. If you are over 40, maybe even over 35, you are a little too old to go to teenage/college age music concerts. It's weird to see you next to 12-25 year olds dancing to teenage music. There are lots of other concerts people your age will be going to you.

4. Don't bring your 12 year olds or younger to these concerts. It is no place for someone that age, even if you are chaparoning them.

5. What is the deal with crowd surfing--maybe this shows my age. I don't like being kicked in the head--even on accident.

6. Watch where you step. Someone might accidently have had their gum fly out of their mouth (me) and you might step on it.

7. Enjoy yourself, lose yourself in the music once in a while. Act silly, wave your hands in the air, try to catch what the singers throw in the crowds, you are only young once. Wear a crazy shirt--who is going to see you?

8. Good quote by one of the lead singers, "You are not who loves you, you are who you love." Nice.

The Truth About Class Clowns

I just didn't understand why my 8th grade Honors English teacher liked Don S., and Collin K. They were loud, obnoxious, and truthfully I wondered by their frequent outbreaks if they really were as smart as the rest of us. What I know was true was despite this all teachers liked them, and they were the two most popular kids at school.

The truth is, teachers do love class clowns. I admit it--shamefully--but I admit it. Why do we like those kids sometimes more than the "good" kids who quietly behave? They make life interesting. Kids rally around them. If your class clown is behind you--meaning--on board with what you are teaching--largely the rest of the class will be too. (Of course, there are always exceptions).

I am teaching Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream right now in my 10th grade classes and the classes where I have a couple class clowns that are all about the love triangles and can't wait to read the next act of the play--the rest of the class has more fun. We are all laughing about Bottom getting turned into an A-S-S and the love potion accidentally getting into Demetrius's eyes rather than Lysander's.

While I was reading Huckleberry Finn with my 11th graders, if my class clowns enjoyed acting out scenes and reading parts outloud the rest of the class laughed and enjoyed it as well.

Class clowns can add a jovial air to the classroom, and give you as a teacher, something to laugh about, blog about, and talk to other teachers and friends about. Boy, could I tell you some stories!

If your class clown is instead a class bully or class jerk, or bad-attitude-student who-messes-around---that type of attitude spreads quickly in a classroom as well.

But I will have admit it has been a teaching epiphany--sometimes you like your loudest, craziest kids the best, and sometimes the ones you overlook more often than you should are the good kids that don't give you a reason to HAVE TO pay attention to them. Interesting, huh?

So, should we all be raising class clowns rather than well behaved, quite students? Probably somewhere inbetween--I will take your socially-adjusted, not-scared-of-authority students with pleasant attitudes, please. :D

Pagan Rituals

The Festival of the Colors is probably the strangest thing I have ever participated in. It is a Hari Krishna celebration where an effigy of an evil demon woman is burned and then paint colors—scented with jasmine--are thrown in the air. I’m not going to lie—it felt very weird to me, and very pagan. I didn’t participate in the chanting.The interesting thing about the Hari Krishna population in Utah is a lot of them are white converts. How odd to think about these people who probably used to be Mormon—or at least Christian—converting to an outlying sect of Hinduism. It seems so anti-US-religious culture. And then it hit me—it is probably as weird to me to see white-Spanish Fork-Utahn-Hari Krishnas as it is weird for say a Japanese person to see a Buddhist turned Mormon. It is probably as anti-cultural tradition to see someone in a Buddhist or a Muslim country turn Christian as it is for me to see someone go the opposite direction, so—strange experience—good epiphany. I will have to say it made me even that much more grateful today as I was watching conference to know I belong to the true church—one where we don’t burn effigies of demons, but positively celebrate the birth and atonement of Jesus Christ.

Do I Look Like?

Either of these two girls?

In the last two weeks I have had (2) Random strangers come up and tell me I look like Taylor Swift. (1) Co-worker/teacher tell me I look like Taylor Swift. (3) Male students tell me I look like Taylor Swift.



I have also had (2) female students tell me I look like Victoria in Twilight.

What do you think? Random.

The Daily Soap Opera

that is teaching high school. Here is my top 10 from the past two weeks. I promise it is funny!

1-I discovered while making a grading rubric for 5-paragraph essays that if you leave the “h” out of Thesis Statement, spell check will correct your phrase to say Testis Statement.

2-The 2nd highest grade in my 11th grade class this term is a Hispanic gangster kid—he has gotten a D- every other term, this term an A+, telling me that Huckleberry Finn can reach all students—including my minority students.

3-I got asked to the prom in an essay this week, and I quote: “Ms. E, you are the most beautiful girl in the hole school I would die if you were my girlfriend it would be really cool if you went to prom with me but I understand if you have other plans, love ------.” Had to turn that one down, but couldn’t help laughing!

4-Two of my Hispanic gangster girls told me I remind them of a VAMPIRE—in a good way---. Something to do with the Twilight generation, I think. I choose to take that as a compliment!

5-We listened to Kanye West’s Golddigger in my class this week. Don’t worry; it was the radio-edited version. It is actually the perfect song to use while teaching Lyric Poetry. It has end rhyme, slant rhyme, repetition, allusion, narrative, meter, and euphony. Nice.

6-“[If you give me an A] I will tell you where Mr. W lives---I know where he hides his spare key!” (Had to turn that one down too).

7-Phone Conversation: “I think if my son (who is earning at 30% in your class) at least comes to your class every time (but doesn’t read or do homework) deserves to get at least a D in your class.” LOVE Badgering parents.

8-“Miss E, have you even tried eHarmony, why not? I think you should.”

9-Angry, ANGRY, A-N-G-R-Y parent who thinks we are smearing his daughter’s name and making her sound loose because in her student highlight in the school newspaper it says that she said that if she were stranded on a desert island she would bring a b-o-y with her. Yeah, definitely makes her sound like a prostitute. Hmmhmmm. I’d be concerned too! Our student newspaper—spreading smut one issue at a time! We do what we can.

10-This amazing poem written by one of my little gangter boys:

I wish I had dimes
for every one of my crimes
What a rich man I'd be
If I had that kind of money
If that was the case
I wouldn't be in this place
And work all day
Without a pay
I wish I could fly
Up so high
If I could have all the dimes
I wouldn't have to do my crimes
But in the end
All I need is a friend
That will be there till the end

-F.C., age 15

I'm Not Special Ed

Thanks goodness, but it was a close call! Last week my visiting teachee gave me the 2 1/2 hour special education assessment. She is graduating this year with her MA in School Pshychology, and she needed to administer the test as practice. It was soooo long, but a really good experience for me as a regular education teacher. It really opened my eyes to how hard the test really is! It made me have empathy for my ELL students who are learning English! There was a section where they give you a word or phrase and then there are four pictures that represent very similar meanings, but you have to choose one that best fits the word or expression. If I didn't know English very well, I would have gotten every question in that section wrong! I can see why a lot of the Hispanic kids get evaluated for Special Education.

I also realized how much math I have forgotten! I am sure that I would be put in special ed math right now if this test was for real. I forgot how to do fractions....I know, I should not admit this! And I put pie as 2.14 instead of 3.14. I was getting test anxiety, started counting on my fingers, and mumbling....It was a hard test! I know I missed some of the math questions just because I had some serious test anxiety--even though I knew I wasn't really going to be put in Special Ed!

I'm not allowed to know my score, but my visit teachee told me yesterday at church I scored very high, but wow, great experience because now I know what being evaluated for special education is all about. Whew. Close call!

My Budding Journalists

A few of my little budding journalists at the Deseret News Journalism Conference 2009

Just a little bragging moment about my journalism kids. We returned from a regional journalism conference/competition held at UVU last week and we took home five awards! We won best overall news column, 2nd place best (straight) news article, honorable mention best news article, 3rd place best sports story, and 2nd place best photographs! There were schools from all over Utah Valley--Tooele/Salt Lake down to Nephi attending the conference, so there was some tough competition!

When we attended the conference last year we only took home one award, and people were like "Where is Payson?" And this year we took home 5 awards and I tried my best to not squeal too loudly as they kept saying Payson, Payson, Payson over and over again! I'm so proud of my little journalists! We placed in all categories but 3!

Needless to say we didn't place in the layout or graphic categories because I don't know enough about computers to teach the kids about that kind of thing, but I am proud that we won awards for our writing. Part of what I love about teaching journalism is the opportunity I have to really workshop with these 12 kids about their writing. We tear apart and rebuild their writing (and try not to hurt their feelings) everyday--and looks like it paid off!

It was one of those little moments that reminded me that teaching is worth it and hard work pays off. Congrats to my crew!

And then today at our faculty meeting I was awarded the Yellow Jersey Award, an award that recongnizes hard work done by a faculty member the principal awards once a month. The prinipal wanted to recognize me for my work with the students in the journalism class and for all the work I do as the school PR person.

So, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but it felt really good to be recongnized for my long hours of hard work with those kids! :D

Why are hats disrespectful?

Why are hats in school considered disrespectful? I'm on my lunch break right now at a teacher conference and we just read a student's persuasive essay on why hats should be allowed in school. The student argues that no one can really tell you why hats are considered disrespectful and it got me thinking. Why are they? We got in a *lively* discussion at my table about the issue. I don't think anyone can really say why hats are disrespectful other than that *they just are* -- I think it comes down to cultural tradition in our country. Isn't it just tradition that tells us we should take our hats off in front of authority figures? Is there really a reason why? I understand that we should have our hats off in churches and schools ect., because that connotes respect in our country, but again--why? What is it about an uncovered head that shows respect? I think it might just be tradition. Please tell me why though if you have a good argument. I would really like to know.

*NOTE* I would say that if the hat is a relgious or military hat of sorts it shows disrespect if it is worn improperly.

I teach high school obviously, and I accidentally don't notice when my students wear hats in my classroom. I honestly don't notice. I have other teachers tell my students to take their hats off when my class is in the library and I have a moment of embarrassment because I honestly don't see it--. I have talked to a few younger teachers at the school and they feel the same way. Possibly it is a generational thing? The three well-seasoned teachers at my table today are from my parents' generation and one is an x-Marine. They all have problems with kids wearing hats--I really don't. (I didn't tell them that...we were just talking about why it is or isn't disrespectful). But please, help me understand why a hat itself is disrespectful, I need to be enlightened!

I think if we could tell the students *WHY* it is disrespectful they would better understand the rule. This being said I do understand that my role as a teacher is to enforce school hat policies.

Winter Camping!

It wouldn't be me if I didn't put one nice shot with the post.

Just threw this one in to keep it real! :D


These guys look kinda sinister. I don't know if I got a close up but several of the drawings of the feet in these petroglyphs had six toes....



Beause I know you are dying to know how single women spend Valentine's Day--. I spent it in Moab. I went winter camping, yes, winter camping. We had a winter tent and winter sleeping bags and I slept. No one else did, but I slept. We saw eagles, ravens, deer, I almost ran over a rabbit, cows, heard mountain lions, and everyone but me stayed up all night listening to coyotes. The most exciting part of the trip for me was that we survived! And I got to see some petroglyphs! I have always been fascinated with Native American stuff, don't ask me why--maybe it is because that was all the history we had to learn about in WA State history, but you have to admit, these are cool! The ones on the large rock are from AD 1300 ish and the the one that looks like a herd of mountain sheep or something are from the 1600-1800s.

Here is the Delicate Arch picture for Missy! :D

Purely Text-Relationships

Pep-Peeve from an eye-witness:

I know it was kind of funny when I saw a blurb from Sex and the City where Keri gets broken up with on a post-it note, and laughed when I saw a pre-view for He's Just Not That Into You, when Drew Barrymore says she is being rejected now by multiple technologies: text, MySpace, facebook, ect., and I admit to loving the movie You've Got Mail, but seriously, there is a problem developing America.

Students are having relationship almost solely on text-messaging. I have students who get to know a guy and decide that they are going to be exclusive soley over text messages and facebook e-mails. They are conducting the important hook-up, break-up, and make-up conversations non-verbally. Why? Because it eliminates the awakwardness of face-to-face or even voice-to-voice communication.

I know they are trying to "save minutes" when they stay up until 4 a.m. texting instead of talking on the phone, but wait, isn't there ususally free minutes after 9 pm?

They say they are not supposed to be talking to boys/girls that late at night so texting all night is incognito, but wait, should they really be talking to boys/girls that late at night? No, and not just sleep suffers on that one people.

And needless to say as a teacher, I don't think it is appropriate (and not just for academic purposes) that students should be texting each other class to class and school to school all-day-long. Separation anxiety people?

I am just waiting for the day when they get into real relationships, like let's say, marriage relationships, and they cannot communicate at all. I'm afriad the following just might happen:



And when it does, be very, very afraid.

A letter to the younger me upon turning.....

1- Just let him kiss you; it won't hurt.
2- You will be single for a very long time--enjoy it.
3- The sooner you discover that you need eyebrows the better.
4- You will become an English teacher, go back to school the first time you get the inspiration to.
5- The temple is one of your best friends.
6- Nurture relationships between yourself and your brother and sisters and girlfriends--they will continue to be a great strength to you.
7- Dad is always right, it's just a fact.
8- Don't ever cut your hair any shorter than 2 inches below your shoulders.
9- You don't need that many shoes.
10- Travel. You have the time and the money and you love it.
11- Don't let anyone tell you you can't; you can.
12- Get into the habit of making your bed.
13- Happiness is a choice.
14- He's not worth worrying over too much for too long.
15- One day you will like mom's cornflake potatoes.
16- Talk to PR at the party you will him at--he is hot.
17- Have BK sign your senior yearbook.
18- Don't get your ears double pierced.
19- Learn to take criticism gracefully.
20- You are not perfect--and that is okay.