The Lady of the Mosquitoes

Well my summer is officially over. If there is one thing I have to remember this summer by, it's the scars. Don't worry, not emotional ones. No, instead I have hundreds of little scars all over me from the summer of the mosquitoes. In my lifetime I have definitely had my share of bug bites. Usually it was a couple from girls camp, a few from a bonfire, or maybe some from a picnic. This summer, however, my blood officially became the nectar of the mosquitoes. Whether it was Trek, or watching fireworks on the 4th, or just hanging out with friends, I got bug bites everywhere I went. And not a just a few at a time, we're talking a minimum of about 20 on any given occasion. My latest (and hopefully last) attack of the summer was this past week. I was at the senior pool party for student council collecting money at the gate. The second the sun went down, the mosquitoes were on the prowl. I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt so I figured I couldn't get it too bad. I was sorely mistaken. You see, mosquitoes adapt. If their victim's legs are covered, then they go for the feet! Yep, I have about 30+ bug bites on my feet (including the BOTTOM of my feet). Try getting up in front of a classroom full of teenagers all day long and teaching while your feet are itching and BURNING a fiery burn of a thousand suns. Yes, it sucks. Also to make things even more AWESOME, my feet are swollen like a nine-month-pregnant woman about to burst. Curse mosquitoes!


(I was going to post pictures of my lovely feet, but upon my better judgement decided to spare you all of the eyesores that they are. Just know, they're nasty.)

Where Has the Time Gone?

So remember that one time that I wanted summer to go by super fast so I could start teaching? Yeah, is it too late to take that back? This summer has been craaaaazy busy...in a nutshell: work, flood, New Teacher Induction, Student Council camp, Trek, trip home (that was unexpectedly made longer because of a death in the family), several Student Council meetings, preparing for my first year of teaching, and I've been bombarded with decisions about health care and retirement plans. Basically I feel like it FLEW by.

Now here I am 10 days away from being a big girl with a career. I feel so much pressure! I have to make grown up decisions about health care and retirement. I have to live up to all of the evaluations and letters of recommendation that I used to make me sound awesome. I have to be responsible for teenagers. AHH! I've decided that if nothing else, this career is going to give me major anxiety issues.

In all actuality, I am so so so incredibly excited to finally start a career that I have known I wanted for the past 10 years. There were times during it all that I felt like it would never come, and yet here it is. It's exciting to know that all my hard work has paid off and that I'm finally starting this chapter of my life. I have gone down to my classroom a few times now. The furniture is where I want it, posters are on the walls, and I finally have access to my computer! The more and more my room comes together, the more excited I am to spend everyday in there!