Week One

Part of reaching a destination is learning along the way:


• I vow to uphold my "keep it real" commitment so that the work I do will matter to a teacher or student somewhere. I met lots of very passionate people flinging names and slinging "theoretical frameworks" this week. Slap me when I get this exciting.

• Talking about tomato planting, growth, and harvesting with a random stranger can sure make an hour's bus wait much more pleasant, especially after the bus I was to take flew past us without thought of stopping.

• This is a welcoming space. I've met so many genuinely kind and welcoming people this week. They've gone out of their way to make themselves available for questions. It's affirming that community is a value shared by those I'll journey with.

• Mowing one's lawn is highly therapeutic and rewarding (this was after all the third time I’ve ever mowed a lawn).

• Lego blocks provide an invigorating way to begin a college-level introduction to composition course. Apparently, 18 year old freshmen still enjoy playing with blocks, and if nothing else, they can spend the semester wondering who ever allowed me to become their instructor. Hmm, not much different from previous high school teaching. (They are thankfully an eager bunch. Our first class went well and it feels great to be back in the classroom.)

• Wearing sneakers with dress clothes is worth swallowing what small semblance of fashion instinct I may have in favor of blister-less feet when walking between the bus station and campus. And the librarian who led the intro workshop I attended on Friday was sporting the same look, so heck, if this grad school thing doesn’t work out, there’s always another exciting option: running up and down stacks!

• I can’t practice yoga with 100 people in a room designed for 25. On the agenda for next week: find a new location for minimalist exercising.

 - D