My new couch

I know it's lame, but I'm excited about my new couch, and I think you all should be too. So here she is.

First week

I have officially completed my very first week of graduate school. The classes are HARD. One of my professors used the word prolegomenon THREE TIMES IN ONE LECTURE. I'd never heard the word before in my life. And, Lord knows, after looking it up, I'm still wondering why he doesn't just say prologue, like the rest of us.

I'm sure that once I train my brain to think differently, and faster, these classes will be an absolute pleasure. For now, though, I find myself thinking "What in the world have I gotten myself into?!"

I have not had much time to explore the town; Indy keeps drawing me back over the weekends. I feel like a freshman that keeps going back home, but it's difficult to ignore obligations and relationships back there when I have only such superficial ones here.

And now for something completely different...

Today was my first day of teaching. I've got two sections of Public Speaking this semester - my favorite subject! Now, I have plenty of experience speaking in public, but I have never formally taught before. I certainly have never been in charge of anyone's college grades before. It's going to be an adventure.

Class #2 was far better than class #1, probably because I'd already had a test run. It went very smoothly and I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. At the end of the class, one of my students came up to me and asked, "When you were in college, did you take any education classes?" "No." "Wow," he responded. "You sure can't tell!"

This guy is officially my new favorite student. :) Whether he was trying to earn a few brownie points early on, I don't know. What I do know is that I needed a bit of a confidence boost - someone to tell me I am capable of doing this - and this freshman boy gave me those words of encouragement.

Thursday will present an entirely new challenge. It won't be syllabus day anymore. The classes will have done a reading assignment, and I have to figure out what I'm going to do with them for 75 minutes based on that reading. Yikes!

Spiders

I live in the basement now. And there are spiders. Lots of them. The Raid isn't working, and my legs are covered in itchy red bites that happen when the spiders sneak into my bed at night. It's kind of horrifying. Suggestions? I must rid the basement of these annoying little creatures immediately.

And on another note, I'm sad tonight. I shouldn't be. We hosted a game night at my place and enjoyed a room full of fun people. But I am. It's hard to be in a new place, even when it's exciting.

The catch up

It has been so very long since I've sat down to record the events of my life for you all. Much has happened in the last several weeks, and I am overwhelmed. I am in a brand new place with a suddenly brand new life, craving the familiar.

When my time as a VISTA member came to a close, I had two weeks of freedom. I traveled to North Carolina to help one of my roommates move - seeing both the beach and the mountains in just one weekend. I also visited friends in Washington, DC for a week. During that journey, I went to the beach in Delaware, enjoyed an outdoor film on the National Mall, read a lot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which I still haven't finished), lost several games of Scrabble, and shared meals with some seriously quality people. It was really nice to be surrounded by a bunch of Progressives.

Immediately upon my return to Indy, my mom met me there to help with my packing. We also took a day trip up to Chicago - a first for her. It was a lovely day, but not nearly long enough.

Last Sunday I moved into my new house in Bloomington. It comes with a bunch of new challenges, including some spider extermination and a lack of storage space, but I think I'm going to really like this space. I have also been learning how to be a teacher. In just one week, I will be in charge of the education of 48 college freshmen, instructing them in the art of public speaking. It's terrifying, yet exciting.

I didn't expect this transition to be as hard as it is. It was a kind of whirlwind - like I ripped myself suddenly away from everything that's made sense for the last year, and away from friends who have been around for even longer. Now, in this new setting, I already long to be back in my familiar little world. But I recognize the importance of this new step in my life, and I am committed to making the most of my graduate school experience.