Sometimes I say swear words. Nobody's perfect and I'm not ashamed to claim it.
Friday, July 30, 2004
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Monday, July 26, 2004
So, here are some updates on some stuff from the last post. Primarily the conference.
As a future teacher, they ('they' being the powers that be, also known as 'the man') have us do these conferences from time to time. I will never get away from them, even when I take that step from future teacher to teacher.
I must say, my expectations were pretty low coming in to this conference and I have to admit that it blew anything I could have imagined for it out of the water. Entertaining and powerful speakers adorned the program and hot, relevant discussion filled our afternoons.
One of the most powerful speakers was a lady who we all now affectionately call 'Mrs. A' She is a holocaust survivor who travels around the state of North Carolina telling her story. She does this for no monetary compensation of any kind. More important than her story, however, is the message she brings that one could draw as lessons learned through her experiences. This was by far the most moving experience of the conference to me.
Aside from the speakers and regular sessions, I had my paradigms shifted by the people I was around and already knew, for that matter. As I watched a friend of mine who I had known to be a rather strong willed vegitarian eat meat, I'm not sure why, but this shook my beliefs at the very core. I probably thought about this for at least an hour constant. Also when I found out that a friend of mine who happens to be homosexual was 'engaged' (I use the quotes out of respect for him and simplicity of writing at the moment. He doesn't called it an 'engagement' because of the meanings carried with the term, but I can't think of a better word.) This wasn't really a paradigm shift, of sorts. Personally, I think he should be able to go to any state in the union, get hitched, and have access to the same rights as everyone else. However, this made an issue, that is a pretty hot topic here in the states at the moment, personal. Which can change, or solidify one's belief systems. It also hammered home the theme of the conference in a different way than just hearing it from a keynote speaker.
The theme was diversity. It's obvious to tell how this stuff fits. I was asked, in a group session to respond to the statement "Diversity is..." and I was given 1/3 of a post-it note to respond on. I looked down at this sliver of paper and thought to myself "1/3 of a post-it? How could I define something so massive on this?" That's exactly what I wrote. Some people might of thought I was an ass. If they did, fuck them, they miss the point entirely and if this really is the case, send your kids to *my* class.
I also found out something a bit depressing. Remember the new crush from the last post? She has moved/transfered, and I will probably never see her again. I guess it serves me right for not speaking up when I had the chance and not coming to grips with my true feelings until now. I have the feeling that everything's going to work out though. I don't know where this new outlook is coming from, but I'm glad it's there. Still, I'm going to miss her.
No word on the room yet, they told me to call back sometime this week and check. I've yet to call and it scares the shit out of me. But I did have a couple friends offer me a place to crash in the event of the worst, which meant a great deal to me, even though they may be waging their bets on me getting a dorm room.
My birthday is still wednesday.
As a future teacher, they ('they' being the powers that be, also known as 'the man') have us do these conferences from time to time. I will never get away from them, even when I take that step from future teacher to teacher.
I must say, my expectations were pretty low coming in to this conference and I have to admit that it blew anything I could have imagined for it out of the water. Entertaining and powerful speakers adorned the program and hot, relevant discussion filled our afternoons.
One of the most powerful speakers was a lady who we all now affectionately call 'Mrs. A' She is a holocaust survivor who travels around the state of North Carolina telling her story. She does this for no monetary compensation of any kind. More important than her story, however, is the message she brings that one could draw as lessons learned through her experiences. This was by far the most moving experience of the conference to me.
Aside from the speakers and regular sessions, I had my paradigms shifted by the people I was around and already knew, for that matter. As I watched a friend of mine who I had known to be a rather strong willed vegitarian eat meat, I'm not sure why, but this shook my beliefs at the very core. I probably thought about this for at least an hour constant. Also when I found out that a friend of mine who happens to be homosexual was 'engaged' (I use the quotes out of respect for him and simplicity of writing at the moment. He doesn't called it an 'engagement' because of the meanings carried with the term, but I can't think of a better word.) This wasn't really a paradigm shift, of sorts. Personally, I think he should be able to go to any state in the union, get hitched, and have access to the same rights as everyone else. However, this made an issue, that is a pretty hot topic here in the states at the moment, personal. Which can change, or solidify one's belief systems. It also hammered home the theme of the conference in a different way than just hearing it from a keynote speaker.
The theme was diversity. It's obvious to tell how this stuff fits. I was asked, in a group session to respond to the statement "Diversity is..." and I was given 1/3 of a post-it note to respond on. I looked down at this sliver of paper and thought to myself "1/3 of a post-it? How could I define something so massive on this?" That's exactly what I wrote. Some people might of thought I was an ass. If they did, fuck them, they miss the point entirely and if this really is the case, send your kids to *my* class.
I also found out something a bit depressing. Remember the new crush from the last post? She has moved/transfered, and I will probably never see her again. I guess it serves me right for not speaking up when I had the chance and not coming to grips with my true feelings until now. I have the feeling that everything's going to work out though. I don't know where this new outlook is coming from, but I'm glad it's there. Still, I'm going to miss her.
No word on the room yet, they told me to call back sometime this week and check. I've yet to call and it scares the shit out of me. But I did have a couple friends offer me a place to crash in the event of the worst, which meant a great deal to me, even though they may be waging their bets on me getting a dorm room.
My birthday is still wednesday.
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