A Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky, and there was a slight chill in the air that was not quite cold enough to make me put my hands in my coat pockets. In fact, today was one of the last beautiful days before it turns nasty and it's too cold outside to even appreciate beauty. I did everything I could to soak it up. I parked in an inconvenient lot and walked everywhere. With a mug of hot green tea (which was a bit disappointing because it had a flavor that reminded me of Fruity Pebbles...not exactly my favorite tea flavor) and a laid back gait, I crossed campus to class with plenty of time to spare, which made my walk even that much more enjoyable. Then after a very constructive and enjoyable teacher education class, I made my way back, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Since I live in Michigan, I will be lucky if I feel that again before April. Then I found out that I was finally placed for my student teaching. It even freaked me out a little, but in a good, challenging way. If everything works out, I will be teaching history/social studies to a bunch of middle schoolers. Did I want that? Not exactly, but I'm willing to roll with it. I've always been more comfortable in my math abilities, but I love history. Not just kinda love, but really love. It excites me and makes me want to continually learn more. Math just isn't like that. But will I be good at teaching history? This question has nagged at me for the last two years. What do I get a Masters in: math or history? And then PhD...I know I don't want to get a PhD in math, but will I even like or be good at teaching history to a point where I would want to spend years upon years working on a degree that really won't make me much money? Who knows. At least now I don't have a choice. I have to step out of my comfort zone, and not just get my feet wet, but jump right in, especially since I'll be dealing with middle schoolers...eek!  Life is not about taking the easy route. To really get the most out if it, you have to push yourself and face your fears. After pondering endless days full of middle school history classes, I decided that maybe it just might be a lot of fun. Middle schoolers may have the out-of-control hormones and all sorts of crazy, but I bet I'll never get bored. I'll have all sorts of things to blog about...that is if I even have time. Here's to a wonderful, beautiful, sun-filled day and a challenge that will hopefully help me get a better idea of what I really want to do with my life. Now I have to get to my history book. I have a lot of reading...I mean skimming...to do. Bon nuit!