Finding the bright side of a situation can sometimes lead to frustration. 27% of times there may not even be a bright side to something, but as humans we must find a way to overcome the fact that life isn't always sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. Although yes, I agree it would be amazing if it were.
Honestly, this is something I just recently had to accept. As circumstances with dying family members and a chaotic school year suppressed me each day, I had to learn many things: talk to family and friends, but most importantly talk to the ultimate friend of life that will never leave me nor forsake me in times of difficulty, Jesus Christ.
He will turn fearful into faithful, and the storms of life into isles of grace. And the coolest thing about it is to simply trust Him! Yeah, my GOD is that powerful!
Standing in the car rider line today just doing my duty...my friend and I asked a former student if he remembers what optimistic meant. He proceeded to tell us it meant looking on the bright side. And so we then asked him what the opposite to optimistic was and his answer was indeed: Downimistic.
We are all on this journey together. Let's make the best of it and be the best Christians we can be! With the help of other Chrisian support, we will be able to fight the gloomy day battle and overcome Downimisticness once and for all.
"In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" Psalm 11:1
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Man vs..........
It's been quite a while since I have been able to sit down and chat with all of my blogsters. A plethora of things have consumed my life, and one of those has been starting a new school year. And as all teachers now, a new school year means a totally different group of kids and personalities.
Instead of...
1. Man vs. Man
2. Man vs. Nature
3. Man vs. Society
4. Man vs. Self
To demonstrate my perspective on this matter, I will start by sharing this:
Introducing conflict...I ask the kids what the four types of conflict are before teaching them anything on this matter.
So, they tell me...
So, they tell me...
1. Man vs. Food (as you know, TV show)
2. Man vs. Predator (movie, I think?)
3. Man vs. Wild (yet another TV show)
4. Man vs. Wife (go figure)
Instead of...
1. Man vs. Man
2. Man vs. Nature
3. Man vs. Society
4. Man vs. Self
Regardless of how much TV they watch, through a co-teacher and I demonstrating these scenarios in real life ways (somewhat pranks), they will now NEVER forget the legit 4 types of conflict...and they have stated that conflict demonstration/prank day was their favorite day of 6th grade so far!
Never a dull moment with middle schoolers!
Never a dull moment with middle schoolers!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
A Very Merry Un-Earthday...to You!
Pssst, Hi....
Happy Belated Earth Day earthlings.....
"Tree Hugger Day",
"Save the Earth Day"
.......or whatever you want to call it. But you wanna know what...I believe every day should be "Earth Day" in a way that we preserve and take care of the earth that God has so graciously given us. No we can't exactly stop "global warming" or save the homes of my beloved polar bears BUT we can make a difference in our community (and now I sound like a Disney Channel commercial). Anyways, today I asked my students for their homework to go outside and take in the natural beauty of our earth and write a paragraph about it. I challenge you to do that also, but you don't have to write me a paragraph. =)
It's been an interesting week in the world of middleschoolteacher-ness. Needless to say, a LOT has been going on. We have been "sweating out loud" on a few things, we have also been "remanascan" (reminiscing) on the past and the fun/crazy/awkward moments we've had, and taking in the all natural "beautiful-ol-ol-ol-ol" world around us. Our students have inspired us to give it ALL we've got, even when our Monster Energy (Rehab) is out of our system. We even learned that RSVP means to respond to the party that invited you, with a REASON why you can't make it. Therefore, we have tied this knowledge into our curriculum. SYSWE, Support your stance with evidence as to why you can't make it to the particular event you were asked to attend.
*Quotes above from actual students mouths, in real life scenarios, in a very serious manner.
Ok, so to wrap this up I would like to display a special song (actually my favorite song) by Needtobreathe, in honor of Earth Day and the beautiful world in which we live.
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to change, it's not." -The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
Monday, April 22, 2013
Embrace Your Awesomeness
"Embrace your AWESOMENESS" has been the theme of Ms. Thomas' LA class, we have overall had some highly intriguing discussions as we journey into the land of Awesomeness. However, I also wanted to share with the blognation a few quotes that have really been seriously thought about and analyzed in our class.
First of all, my kids have taught me that:
-Everyone is awesome, we simply need to find what we are awesome in and truly embrace it.
-Once we embrace it, we need to release it and show the world how awesome we are!
-We were born to be AWESOME!
We also analyzed this video and discussed some things that can make our world even more awesome!
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot." -Elanor Roosevelt
"Define your limits, don't let your limits define you. Believe you are limitless and you will be." - Rob Dyrdek
First of all, my kids have taught me that:
-Everyone is awesome, we simply need to find what we are awesome in and truly embrace it.
-Once we embrace it, we need to release it and show the world how awesome we are!
-We were born to be AWESOME!
We also analyzed this video and discussed some things that can make our world even more awesome!
"We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience which we really stop to look fear in the face...we must do that which we think we cannot." -Elanor Roosevelt
"Define your limits, don't let your limits define you. Believe you are limitless and you will be." - Rob Dyrdek
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Calling all Teachers
Sometimes after a long week of awesomeness with my kids, there are times you simply need to sit down and reflect...on well, basically everything. Now, I will be the first to admit that my kids could have their own reality show, comedy show, you name it. But when it comes to teacher business, we tend to forget that the items below, we manage on a daily basis...whether we realize it or not. Thanks to a teacher friend of mine, I found that the phrases that follow are legitately true in my life.
The Educator's Room--HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER? By Jeff Foxworthy
You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.
You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.
You believe chocolate is a food group.
You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.
You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”
You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!
You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”
You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
Just wanted to share the awesomeness with my other teacher homies out there...
Random Quote of the day: "In life some people trip and some fall, but some take that trip and make a beautiful dance out of it." -Rob Dyrdek
The Educator's Room--HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU’RE A TEACHER? By Jeff Foxworthy
You get a secret thrill out of laminating things.
You can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
You walk into a store and hear the words, “It’s Ms./Mr. ____________ and know you have been spotted.
You have 25 people who accidentally call you Mom/Dad at one time or another.
You can eat a multi-course meal in under 25 minutes.
You’ve trained yourself to go to the bathroom at two distinct times of the day, lunch and planning period.
You start saving other people’s trash, because most likely, you can use that toilet paper tube or plastic butter tub for something in the classroom.
You want to slap the next person who says, “Must be nice to work 7 to 3 and have summers off”.
You believe chocolate is a food group.
You can tell if it’s a full moon without ever looking outside.
You believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, “Boy, the kids are sure mellow today.”
You feel the urge to talk to strange children and correct their behavior when you are out in public.
You think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.
You spend more money on school stuff than you do on your own children.
You can’t pass the school supply aisle without getting at least 5 items!
You ask your friends to use their words and explain if the left hand turn he made was a “good choice” or “bad choice.”
You find true beauty in a can full of perfectly sharpened pencils.
You are secretly addicted to hand sanitizer.
Just wanted to share the awesomeness with my other teacher homies out there...
Random Quote of the day: "In life some people trip and some fall, but some take that trip and make a beautiful dance out of it." -Rob Dyrdek
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Serious Sketchiness
In case you were ever wondering, complete and total random things tend happen when you are furniture shopping with one of your best friends. Mostly sketchy things that you would never expect to take place in the epicenter of Greensboro. Here are a few things to beware of when shopping for furniture:
*Beware of those furniture store folks waiting like vultures for you to enter their domain. They will hunt you down as soon as you enter their facility to sell you the most expensive thing they have. They may even interrogate you a little in order to search your soul to find out what your a looking for that day.
*Have a game plan in place before entering any furniture store. Example: "Take an immediate left" If your friend does not hear you, he will get caught by the guy named John.
*Beware of the guy named David with a very foreign accent upon entering. For you will not understand anything he is saying.
*Beware of freshly paved parking lots and sketchy caution signs. This may mean something: That the store is straight up sketchy itself.
*Also, beware of people talking to themselves in the mirror. They think they can carry on a full fledged conversation with their reflection.
*Walking through an antique store can not only be quite entertaining and fun but also very dangerous, especially when your playing, "jump out and scare people" and "hide and go seek".
Also there are simply those moments you will never forget like:
*That moment when you realize your friend in not just very tan, he's specifically "Spiced Gingerbread".
*That moment when you realize you just jammed out to Justin Bieber, Mr Duey and Kids Bop, just to hear the bass.
*That complete "what in the world" moment when an RV rides by with bright blue underbelly lights in the middle of...the city.
*That moment when your telling a story and you are right in the middle of the most exciting part and your about to get to the climax, and your friend goes, "Shhhhh..."
* That moment when you see your reflection walking out of Fudruckers and you think "oh that girl has the same skirt as me" only to realize you ARE that girl.
Quotes of the Day:
“Think deeply about life, it’s worth it!” -Jon Foreman, Switchfoot
*Beware of those furniture store folks waiting like vultures for you to enter their domain. They will hunt you down as soon as you enter their facility to sell you the most expensive thing they have. They may even interrogate you a little in order to search your soul to find out what your a looking for that day.
*Have a game plan in place before entering any furniture store. Example: "Take an immediate left" If your friend does not hear you, he will get caught by the guy named John.
*Beware of the guy named David with a very foreign accent upon entering. For you will not understand anything he is saying.
*Beware of freshly paved parking lots and sketchy caution signs. This may mean something: That the store is straight up sketchy itself.
*Also, beware of people talking to themselves in the mirror. They think they can carry on a full fledged conversation with their reflection.
*Walking through an antique store can not only be quite entertaining and fun but also very dangerous, especially when your playing, "jump out and scare people" and "hide and go seek".
Also there are simply those moments you will never forget like:
*That moment when you realize your friend in not just very tan, he's specifically "Spiced Gingerbread".
*That moment when you realize you just jammed out to Justin Bieber, Mr Duey and Kids Bop, just to hear the bass.
*That complete "what in the world" moment when an RV rides by with bright blue underbelly lights in the middle of...the city.
*That moment when your telling a story and you are right in the middle of the most exciting part and your about to get to the climax, and your friend goes, "Shhhhh..."
* That moment when you see your reflection walking out of Fudruckers and you think "oh that girl has the same skirt as me" only to realize you ARE that girl.
Quotes of the Day:
“Think deeply about life, it’s worth it!” -Jon Foreman, Switchfoot
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Ridiculously Random
I am going to need for my peeps out there to get a glimpse of just how random my life really is sometimes. I have the most amazing friends in the whole united universe, and the greatest family in the history of families, but sometimes there's simply times where my life just takes a random twist and ends up on a whole other spectrum. This place I like to call CrazyTown.
Here are just a few events and quotes from great people in my life that keep my life interesting at all times:
#1 "See this is why people get scared of the dark....cuz of these crazy ghost stories" -Cousin Jake
#2 "Is that your real hair, or one of those hair pieces?" -Aunt Susie
#3 "Elvis Presley was like.... the Justin Beiber of today" -Jake
#4 "Ms. Thomas would you like to have an imaginary cat?" -Jessica L, teacher friend
#5 "Would ya just get a look at that...just get a look at it will ya" -Martha M, teacher friend
#6 "Going through the road cones at school in the drop off circle is like going through an agility course...I feel like a border collie" -Me
#7 Uncle Mark: "(insert certain family member here) used my hair gel as tooth paste"
Me: "What? Are you even serious?
Mark: "Yeah, and she wondered why it tasted so funny"
#8 That awkward moment when your entire family is walking in the streets of Star NC from the funeral home to the nearest flower shop, and everybody that rides by waves and you feel like you should at least have a tazer on you.
#9 That feeling you get when your feet all of a sudden feel warm and you realize your uncles dog is so excited to see you he's once again peeing on your Rainbows.
#10 That confused moment when your uncle Mark tells you he has placed the order at Sherri's restaurant under the name "Juan" for you to pick up because he wasn't sure who elses name to put it under.......until your grandma tells you the truth.
#11 "Yes, I need ranch please...Oh wait ur not our waitor nevermind" Meredith, BF
#12 "Heyyy, this is real chicken aint it?" Meredith
#13 That LA teacher moment when your 8th grade cousin says, "I brung it....." and you interrupt his entire sentence to auto correct him before he moves on making yet another grammar mistake.
#14 Telling ghost stories on the front porch, in the dark, while your cousins Stone and Zach try sneaking across the field to scare you thinking they are stealthy and cannot and will not be seen yet doesn't realize there is a full moon making them clearly visible to all creatures great and small. #highschoolers
#15 That "I officially feel old" moment, when your cousin has a friend of yours as a teacher in high school.
Extra: "What is Bassmasters first name?" -Martha
Those are simply a few moments to demonstrate the total randomness of my life. Most happened this week alone.
Here are just a few events and quotes from great people in my life that keep my life interesting at all times:
#1 "See this is why people get scared of the dark....cuz of these crazy ghost stories" -Cousin Jake
#2 "Is that your real hair, or one of those hair pieces?" -Aunt Susie
#3 "Elvis Presley was like.... the Justin Beiber of today" -Jake
#4 "Ms. Thomas would you like to have an imaginary cat?" -Jessica L, teacher friend
#5 "Would ya just get a look at that...just get a look at it will ya" -Martha M, teacher friend
#6 "Going through the road cones at school in the drop off circle is like going through an agility course...I feel like a border collie" -Me
#7 Uncle Mark: "(insert certain family member here) used my hair gel as tooth paste"
Me: "What? Are you even serious?
Mark: "Yeah, and she wondered why it tasted so funny"
#8 That awkward moment when your entire family is walking in the streets of Star NC from the funeral home to the nearest flower shop, and everybody that rides by waves and you feel like you should at least have a tazer on you.
#9 That feeling you get when your feet all of a sudden feel warm and you realize your uncles dog is so excited to see you he's once again peeing on your Rainbows.
#10 That confused moment when your uncle Mark tells you he has placed the order at Sherri's restaurant under the name "Juan" for you to pick up because he wasn't sure who elses name to put it under.......until your grandma tells you the truth.
#11 "Yes, I need ranch please...Oh wait ur not our waitor nevermind" Meredith, BF
#12 "Heyyy, this is real chicken aint it?" Meredith
#13 That LA teacher moment when your 8th grade cousin says, "I brung it....." and you interrupt his entire sentence to auto correct him before he moves on making yet another grammar mistake.
#14 Telling ghost stories on the front porch, in the dark, while your cousins Stone and Zach try sneaking across the field to scare you thinking they are stealthy and cannot and will not be seen yet doesn't realize there is a full moon making them clearly visible to all creatures great and small. #highschoolers
#15 That "I officially feel old" moment, when your cousin has a friend of yours as a teacher in high school.
Extra: "What is Bassmasters first name?" -Martha
Those are simply a few moments to demonstrate the total randomness of my life. Most happened this week alone.
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