take me back to neverland.

i don't want to grow up. i don't know where to go with my life right now.

i don't know if i'm more blown away by my conversations with 7th and 8th graders during school each day or the ones with the adults around me.

alcohol. sex. pregnancy. guns. rape.

think those are my conversations with the adults? wrong. those are the ones with the kids.

its insane. i don't know where these kids are coming from. none of this mess was even remotely on my radar in middle school. heck, none of it was on my radar in high school!

healthy eating. family planning. careers. church. finances

these are the subjects of conversations with the adults. i'm not blown away by these in a negative sense... more surprised in a good way by how coworkers have opened up, how they ask for my opinion even though i feel like a kid playing teacher, how they listen and ask questions.

i feel stuck in this weird limbo place. at work, i'm a grown-up: an equal to the teachers, an authority figure to the kids. outside of work, i'm fighting to stay young and fun: a big kid.

i don't know how well its working.

what's in a name?

how can i expect my students to do well in school when their names don't even follow basic phonics? their entire foundation for education went wrong at birth!

-jylinn.. pronounced jay-lyn. (also, its a boy)
-nyshira.. aka na-sh-era.
-isaly.. like italy, but with an s.
-marchel.. that would sound like michelle but with mar at the front.
-rayce.. his name is race.
-ashantinika.. say it with me "uh-shon-ti-knee-ka". (we just call her nikki)

and the grand finale (however, this one is courtesy of my sister's classroom and not mine):
la-a..
try it out... la-A, lei-a, lA-uh.. any takers?

her name is "ladasha."
she's trying to figure out how she'll bubble it in on the state test.


ridiculous.

you can call me ms. anderson

week 3...

2 of my kids have been sent to AEP (alternative education)
just this week, 7 are in ISS (in school suspension)
1 girl is pregnant (7th grade!)
countless failed their TAKS benchmark last week
(if they don't pass the one in april, they don't go onto the next grade)

whoa.

its so crazy to me that this school is right where i grew up. where'd it come from?

but also...

alexus talked to me about her church.
i'm jennifer and lindsay's "fave teacher."
every kid in my 1st period did their homework last night!
i made friends with part of the "mexican mafia" and they say hi to me in the halls.
i got a room of 19 boys (plus 4 sweet girls) to focus.
and paige and i do her homework everyday because she doesn't want zeros.

its the little rays of sunshine in my day that make me think i could actually do this.

the first two days of work

teacher: "guys, where chris?"
kid: "he's in the hospital."
teacher: "what? what happened?"
kid: "he got jumped. it was pretty bad."


kid: "miss, what's that star-looking symbol between those two numbers?"
me: "which one? the multiplication sign?"
kid: "oh yea! i forgot what those looked like."


teacher: "the polite gangster is one that will need some help."
me: "the one in the blue shirt?"
teacher: "no, he's not polite. he's just a gangster. the one in the green is the polite one."


teacher: "did you meet the mexican mafia in your first period?"
me: "the spanish-speaking girls in the corner?"
teacher: "yea that's them. they're the mexican mafia at the school."

welcome to my life. here's to bracing myself and making it til april!

2009 in review

what a year. here's to hoping and praying that 2010 goes a lot smoother!

january - early in the year, i got to go on a long weekend to colorado with jill. we went to vail and breckenridge.. she skiied and i just enjoyed the snow.

february - a fun little tradition started with this foursome.. "monday fundays" or any day really. just having fun together because we could.

march - lauren and nick got married! it was like 40 degrees and raining and outside but it was perfect!

april - i went to my last phi lamb formal.. 4 years of treasurers.

i also got to see my favorite band ever, sugarland!
may - what a busy, busy month! it started with a fun night for rachael's bachelorette party.
then, with phi lamb's closing ceremonies, the seniors said goodbye.

and finished with graduation!!! yea!!! my whole family came and it was such a fun weekend!

june - rachael and ryan got married in houston and it was beautiful.

july - sweet sawyer marie was born!
and i moved into my very own apartment!

august - my favorite grad students finally finished their masters, graduated from UT and made their way home. but what an incredible three summers!

september - i was lucky enough to get a day off work and tickets to watch my favorite texas longhorns dominate texas tech. hook em!

october - andie found her true calling as a banana for halloween.

november - i spent most of the month playing with these two. jill got her puppy, roxy, in july and they love playing and napping with each other.

december - my life currently looks like this... boxes everywhere as i am packing up and moving out of austin.
come on 2010! a new start in a new city. time to close the doors on 2009 with a bang. happy new years!

on the move again!

the news is true.. i'm packing up my apartment and am heading a little south of this city. my new job and "grown-up" life start monday, january 4th!

as my time in austin is ending, this bizarre, weird feeling has come over me. its definitely bittersweet to be leaving. i've come to a point in my time in this town where it is clear i need something different. i need to leave the hurt behind, carry the good with me, and move on to something different.

there are so many things i'm going to miss here!
including, but definitely not limited to:
-my wonderful, supportive friends.
-the endless list of delicious restaurants only found with a 512 area code.
-the greenbelt. specifically andie's favorite spot on the rocks by the creek.
-the little pieces of everyday life that i've come to cherish so much.

how i know its the holidays

No its not the cute red Starbucks cups.

Nothing about peppermint or candy cane flavors get me excited.

Its not even the hints of decor or christmas music on commercials.

Its these:



And they're in stores now!!

Glorious fudge-covered oreos. These things have been a special holiday treat since I was a little kid and I look forward to them every year. So good!