blown away.

it's official: i'm an occasional blogger at best, a sporadic blogger at worst.  however, over the past month (specifically the past week) i have been blown away by the kindness and generosity all around me and i absolutely have to share it with you.

i'm not ashamed to admit that at times (or many times) with my new job i've felt overwhelmed.  i'm a little baby teacher and i often lack the confidence needed to execute everything i want to execute.  it's been quite a test of patience to develop long term goals -- i'm such an instant gratification type person that i've really had to take a step back and pace my tasks.

this past week was my FIRST BOOK FAIR EVER (besides the last one i went to when i was 10 years old) and i SURVIVED.  there were 100000 things i could've done better, but there were at least a couple things that i did right.  i'm calling it a success, even if my financial form isn't filled out just yet.  it was one of those mental successes.  i had to get through it to know that i could get through it.

and speaking of getting through it, i could never in a million years have survived without the generosity of my volunteers (and my dad who was manipulated into spending TWO ENTIRE DAYS with me at my book fair).  these are some of the most selfless people i have ever met and i am truly blown away by their kindness.  they gave up hours upon hours to sit at cash registers, straighten books, or offer a warm smile.  there were also so many teachers (who are BEYOND busy with their own things) that stopped by to lend a hand during planning periods, pass along words of encouragement, or just remind me to breathe (or share a halloween cookie with me).  you can't find those types of people these days.

and besides that, my precious college roommate, who happened to get married this past weekend, took the time out of her week-before-the-wedding-crazy-time to send me words of encouragement about the book fair.  (and side note: the wedding was amazing, no one tripped down the aisle, AND i got to spin around in circles in a field during photographs ... my kind of party!)

so what have i learned the past week (and month)?  there's good all around me.  good moments, good learning experiences, and most importantly, good people.  i'm a blessed baby teacher.

public school rocks.

by no means is this actually going to be some kind of detailed and intelligent post on how i came from almost a completely public education and i'm doing alright (except that sometimes i can't boil eggs and i occasionally forget to feed my dog).

however, i've started a brand-spanking-new public school job and the kiddies come in one week and i'm stoked.  like really stoked.  because the way i see it, i have 9-10ish months to convince each of the kiddies i meet that they are rockstars.  they are rockstar readers, learners, researchers, athletes, siblings, spellers, attendance-takers, noise monitors, etc.  whatever it is they want to do, they can beast it.

and because my blog serves as some self-expression-time-capsule-place-where-i-can-hopefully-find-things-later, i'm posting john green's video about public schools starting up again.  amazing.

making a difference: librarian style

sometimes the smallest things make the largest difference. i've heard that so many times, but over the past year or so this is something that i have truly come to believe.  without this belief, i don't think i'd be able to really be happy at any job.

i might not know the difference i'm making each day and i guess to be fair, i might never know if i really did make a difference ... but in my occasional moment of optimism, i like to believe it's happening.

if you ever get to the point where you also question the difference you might be making (when my point happens, my mother always reminds me ... hence the blogpost), remind yourself of the starfish story (youtube video below - thanks mama gill for the link!).

it's a story i'd heard before at camp cheerio as a camper and counselor, but thinking about it as an adult was a different experience altogether. it transformed from being a sweet tale of doing good things for others (side note: i didn't always get the meaning of motivational stories when i was younger) to being something that really inspired me.

as a teen librarian, will i find the cure for cancer? no. will i sign bills into law that will give equal rights to all? no. will i figure out a way to make republicans, democrats, penguins, and llamas all get along? to borrow an expression from my dear friend cher horowitz from clueless, as if.

but i'm still making a difference. i don't exactly know what difference it is and i'll probably never see it, but just like the wind, i know it's there. (too much sap? apologies.)

[excuse the semi-strange photos of the short shorts and old people.]

also, just for the record, i won't cure cancer, make laws, or figure out how to make political world peace. but you can bet your bottom dollar that i can find you a book about it. 

enough reading my ramblings. go find your starfish and give it a toss.

where am i supposed to keep my horse?

so the big move is upon us and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.  somehow it is here and life is starting.  woah woah woah.

before i take my last load of stuff to my new "home" (which can really only be considered a glorified closet), it was vital that i made my rounds at the public library to say goodbye.  i mean, these are some of my favorite people in all of chapel hill (and let's be honest, the world) so naturally i can't just peace out.  i'm going to swing back by tomorrow to see as many of these wonderful people as possible, but tonight i made sure to catch sweet susan.

after a wonderful catch up session where we were even able to combine our skills to help a patron with her middle grades book club, i took a hot second to look through a south carolina book that the library has.  i mean, you can never be too prepared for your new state, right?

i learned all kinds of things about south carolina history, the economy, the government structure, etc. ... you know, the basics so i don't say something stupid about seceding from the union or something.

but what was my favorite part of the entire book?  it was naturally the little snippet that contained the weird laws of south carolina.  BECAUSE THESE ARE THE IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW, PEOPLE.

i mean, anyone can memorize the south carolina state bird (which is the carolina wren for those of you with inquiring minds), but the real things you need to know are the laws that'll surely trip you up.  you don't want to move to a new state and get arrested or something crazy because you didn't know you couldn't keep your horse in your bathtub.

and you might think that last one was fake, but here are the three laws listed:

1. if a man proposes marriage to a woman, by law, the marriage must take place.  [good to know!]
2. it is illegal to keep a horse in a bathtub.  [i can't help but wonder why ...]
3. when approaching an intersection in an automated vehicle, the driver must stop 100 feet from the intersection and fire a gun or rifle to warn horse traffic.  [and scare the piss out of other drivers]

so i now ask you fine blog readers, where am i supposed to keep my horse??  i mean, obviously my bathtub won't work, but my apartment is so small that really was my only option.  the jury's still out, but this might be a deal breaker.

also, since these made me laugh, i did a quick google search and found a dumb laws website. some of my favorites for south carolina include:

•  No work may be done on Sunday.  [hooray!!]
• A person must be eighteen years old to play a pinball machine.  [thank goodness i pass this test! gotta get my pinball on.]
• It is considered an offense to get a tattoo.  [but is an offense punishable by law? because if not, the harry potter scar tattoo is still a possibility!]

also, if you're in the mood for a good laugh, check out the north carolina dumb laws. and be honest with yourself about how many times you have broken the third law.  

[hint: for me, every single day. also, just in case they ever change the order of those laws, the above hint refers to the singing law.  some of those other laws could be awkward to break every single day ... or ever ... so i felt clarification was important.]

 

there is so much i don't know about greek mythology.

today i taught my first lesson. that's right ... a megan original, planned-created-and-implemented.  i was working with a 5th grade teacher to enhance what she's doing in her classroom on mythology.  i had planned for us to do some brainstorming and talking about myths, some connecting myths to our current lives a little bit, and then a smidge of reading a greek myth together.  from there, in the weeks to come, we'll work on a fun extension project where we'll get to showcase a myth (or create our own) ... all good stuff.

anyways, i spent hours familiarizing myself with both mythology and the specifics of greek mythology in hopes not to appear completely incompetent in front of those 5th graders.  i knew i wouldn't be able to talk around them the way i might be able to talk around kindergarteners by convincing them i knew what i was doing.  so countless internet and book searches later, i was as prepared as i was going to be.

i was going to connect mythology to the 5th graders by showing them characters from harry potter that derived their names (and sometimes their personalities) from greek mythology, and then throw in a few real life examples influenced by greek myths.  you know, it's all about authentic learning, right?

so here i am, armed and ready with my hermione granger, sirius black, and minerva mcgonagall pictures.  i also had pictures of nike and pandora jewelry in my bag of tricks.  and blow-my-mind there was one kid each time that knew exactly why it connected with greek (or roman in the case of minerva) mythology.

which of course is awesome.  to know they are so excited about learning different things and they have the chance to be exposed to this is inspiring.  i sure as heck had never read any of these greek myths (although somewhere along the line in my k-12 education i did learn about hercules, probs thanks to mr. disney).

and to be honest, in my 55ish minutes with these 5th graders today, i learned more about mythology than i did the weeks i spent planning and researching.

it is amazing what i don't know about greek mythology.  but it is even more amazing to me what these kids do know.  i can't remember exactly what i was like in 5th grade (except i know i liked to pass notes and that i failed a daily edit quiz), but i sure don't think i was excited about greek mythology.

but i'm excited about what i will learn now and it's all thanks to those kids this morning.

my favorite animal is venison.

let's start our reunion with my excuse for my lazy blogging ways as of late.  it's not that i don't have things i want to share because trust me, i'm learning a TON. but those things are all internship related since that's what i do all day (when i'm not writing my thesis) and i aim to share things that are less internship-y and more oh-megan-y.

i mean, if you really want to learn all about my internship and/or thesis, i'll gladly send you the log i keep or the drafts i'm writing.  no takers?  i didn't think so.

so moving on, yesterday while i was having a delightful mini catch-up session with two delightful ladies at the library, they were mentioning a few different animals and sometimes their food names as well.  (ex: baby cow, veal ... i think that was one).  anyways, i was more of a spectator to this conversation because i don't make a lot of interesting eating choices.  and that's for real ... it's an exciting day if i get plain (and i mean PLAIN ... like with minimal-to-zero spices/vegetables -- and i WILL pick the chunk-like-vegetables out because that's nasty) sauce on my spaghetti.

anyways, venison got mentioned as the conversation continued and i happened to mention something that showed that i really didn't have a clue what venison was.  i don't think i specifically said "do venison run around" or something like that, but whatever the comment was it was obvious that i was clueless regarding the fact that venison was the animal in food form ... and not the animal as it ran around in the field.  who knew?!

luckily this was not my first (nor my last) time saying ridiculous things in front of these two wonderful people, but as i venture out into the world i have to remember to filter my sometimes unintelligent thoughts.

if nothing else, now every time i tell someone my favorite animal i can say venison and laugh about my oopsie. it turns out venison is the meat of deer.  and while i'm no vegetarian, i'd just like to leave you with this picture to think about the next time you enjoy your venison:

photo credit: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Bambi

beware of the trick carpet square.

while i'm far from the most fashion-forward person in the world, every now and then i throw all caution to the wind and wear something that i know is ridiculous and doesn't match my outfit.  i've been known to do this since i was very young and often rocked the bright orange umbro shorts, multi-colored inside-out socks, and samba soccer shoes.  what can i say?  old habits die hard.

despite the understated navy dress and white cardigan that i picked out the previous night, when i woke up this morning it was very clear to me that today was a day that called for throwing the fashion rule book out the window and going with my gut.  what did that mean?  it obviously meant that today was pink shoe day.  i was exhausted after a week away from town (funny how a week off makes you more tired) and i just knew i needed something that made me smile every time i looked at it.  the pink shoes were practically glowing from their box, essentially begging me to take them to work.  so i did.  after all, what could possibly go wrong on pink shoe day?

warning: shoes may result in falling and embarrassment.

it turns out that despite pink shoe day being overwhelmingly awesome (because let's be honest...how could it not be?), pink shoe day does not protect you from trick carpet square day.  it's a shame those two days fell on the same 24 hour period this week.

here's where pink shoe day took a wrong turn:  i was waltzing across the library with a stack of new books and thinking about how i could squeeze more books into the display area (which was full full full -- come to the library and check out some new books people!).  my waltzing was unceremoniously interrupted by my body lunging forward in what i can only assume was its failed attempt to counteract the twisting of my ankle as the trick carpet square jumped up from the floor and grabbed at my pink shoe. oh the humanity!  so many things to worry about in the world.  a girl should never have to worry about trick carpet square day. 

[side note: as one who is prone to stumbling, i'm quite skilled in not dropping library books when my balance is contested. today was no different. only a true librarian would sacrifice ankles to save books.] 

darn you trick carpet square in front of the circulation desk.  why why why must you be so inconspicuous and yet so dangerous for ankles and pink shoes everywhere?  and why why why must you be located in front of a place where there are always, always people watching and waiting for innocent pink shoes to get slaughtered by your trickery?

oh pink shoe day.  i had such high hopes for you, but i underestimated the power of trick carpet square day.  next time i'll wear my moon shoes so i can make sure to successfully clear the carpet-square-hurdle that stands between the children's display shelves and the recently returned books.

in the mean time i'll lick my wounds and blog about my clumsiness as a form of therapy.  oh clumsy life.  you never disappoint me.

organized events aren't all bad

as a general rule, i tend to shy away from organized events.  don't get me wrong, i love organization of all kinds.  but large organized events usually make me so anxious that i'd rather do my homework (gasp!) than attend them.  fairs (although i've only been to one state fair in my life), carnivals, festivals, etc...they all make me nervous.

here are some of the things i worry about:  where do i park?  what if i can't actually get mitchy into the ridiculously small spaces they say a car can fit in?  what if the parking is parallel?  where do i get tickets if they're needed?  what if it rains?  where are the bathrooms?  will there be toilet paper?  will there be soap?   

trust me, the list goes on.

despite these things, i do attend the renaissance faire annually (if you haven't been to one, you should. it's quite the life changing event and i highly recommend the tortuga twins), but i think that doesn't get to me because i started going in 6th grade before i knew all of the things that could go wrong.  and usually i go with my dad so i know nothing bad can happen.

the library's "how to recycle a book" display

anyways, today i helped with earth action day as a representative for the library.  and it was so stinking fun. we crafted paper beaded necklaces (be jealous), bookmarks, and postcards.  all of these things were made from discarded magazines so we were being all earth friendly and stuff.  hooray for mother earth!

typically this kind of event would keep me up the night before, but this wasn't the case today.  maybe it was because i had planned everything out and packed the day before, or maybe it was because a friend was coming with me (shout out to katie!), or maybe it was because it was affiliated with the library and nothing really bad happens there.  whatever the reason, everything went just as it should.

there were people to help us unload the car and they hadn't mysteriously misplaced our vendor ticket and given away our table.  some of the lovely volunteers helped us easily pop up our tent and in no time we were situated (and there was even a parking lot with normal sized spaces for mitchy!).  we were checked on continuously throughout the set-up period just to make sure we were still without questions (which we always were) and everyone just seemed to be in good spirits despite the 50-something degree cloudy weather.  we were able to craft with lots of kids (and some adults too!), chat with lots of community members, and generally just have a blast.

if i didn't list worrying as one of my hobbies, i might decide to stop worrying about everything that could go wrong at organized events and start enjoying them.  maybe next time, but today definitely proved that organized events aren't all bad.