Adventures of a Shockingly Average 30-Something

I had a presentation to do in my Children's Lit class this morning.  I was doing a cut story (a story telling method, where you tell a story and as you go, you cut out pictures of things in the story).  I was prepared.  I knew the book ( The Hungry Fox and the Foxy Duck ) by heart.  I knew what I had to do.  I had the timing all figured out for cutting out the pictures.  I was so  ready to do it. I woke up this morning wide awake and ready to present.  As I was getting dressed, brushing my teeth, you know all the getting ready in the morning stuff, I kept going through the story in my head. I walked to class, and as I walked I was saying the story out loud to myself.  I did it a couple times, and didn't mess up.  I had this.  I was going to do fine. I got to class, went to my seat.  I was feeling a little nervous, but not bad.  I knew the story.  I knew what I had to do.  I was going to do fine. My n...

*** I WROTE THIS A FEW MONTHS AGO.  I posted it on my Tumblr after I finished writing it (it took me about 4 or 5 days to write because I kept having to stop.)  I just wanted to post it on here too.  I wrote it while I was reading a book called By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead  by Julie Anne Peters, and for my lit circle project for Young Adult Lit for that class, I chose to do the connector essay, where I connected my life and society in general to the book.  This isn't my essay for class, but this is what I wrote to kind of organize my thoughts and my own experiences with bullying before I wrote the essay.  In my Health class, we have to write an essay where bullying occurred in our own lives, and that got me to thinking about this again, which is why I wanted to post it again. *** I’m reading By The Time You Read This, I’ll Be Dead .  It’s not the first time I’ve read this book, but it really gets to me every single time I read it....

I miss you.  I miss you.  I miss you.  I miss you. I can't even say it enough times. I just miss you, ok?  I'm ok writing this because I'm pretty sure you won't read it anyway.  And if you do, you won't know it's you.  Maybe.  You might, actually. I can't wait until I'm home for the summer and I can see you again.  I love hanging out with you.  I love spending time with you.  You can always get me to smile, and I love that.  And I hope I can make you smile too. I was looking through pictures on facebook yesterday, at silly pictures we took together.  I smiled and laughed at the memory.  Smiled at what you wrote in my high school yearbook, remembered that too. Ok, this is Taylor Swift lyrics, but they're true, ok?  "I'm only up when you're not down / don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground / it's like no matter what I do" and then from later in the song "I'm only me / who I wanna be / Well I'm o...

So.  Respect.  I say we have a little talk about it. People always tell you to respect your elders and whatnot, which, most of the time is fine.  Ok?  Most of the time, ok.  BUT.  I don't care  how much older than me someone is.  If you treat me with respect, I'll treat you with respect.  It's really that simple.  But some people, some , not all, some people seem to think that they don't have to give respect to get it in return, and I'm sorry, but it really doesn't work that way. One group of people who I respect are teachers.  I respect them so much.  They work so hard.  They have to jump through so many hoops with the administrators and everything.  They plan lessons and teach kids who, for the most part, would give anything to not have to be there.  Good teachers care about their students so much.  I look up to my teachers.  I respect people who teach. But there's an exception.  Lis...