My TFAvorite Day

Two new favorites about teaching: morning bus duty and reading my students’ journal entries.

Every morning this week, a team of 5 teachers goes outside to greet the morning buses and walk students to the front of the school. I absolutely love being the first one to see the little faces that come trudging down the bus stairs, and being the first friendly face they see in the morning. But what I love even more is spotting my own students among the crowd and greeting them with a special high five—another opportunity to show them that I care about them. It’s crazy how fast you can get attached to these guys. Good days and bad days (and we’ve had both), these are my babies, and I love every minute I have with them—even the tough ones, because at least they make great stories later.

My collab teachers and I have also taken to reading their daily journal entries together. One of my partners is great at coming up with creative writing prompts, and the kids have the cutest, funniest, and most creative responses. Their sentences are so innocent, their thoughts so purposefully recorded in their 4^th grade handwriting. Jeremiah, for example, our pastor-to-be, wrote this about today: “My poo will be 5 ft long.” The prompt was to write about your dream house, so we’re assuming he means “pool”, but the fact that he spelled it exactly the way he pronounces it and has no idea of the hysterics he put us in is priceless. I think I’m going to photocopy some of their journal entries to cheer me up on days that are hard—how could you not smile when you’re reading them?

More introductions to my students. My class only has three girls: Ja’Kyla, Johnkeria, and Jasmine. I mixed their names up several times the first few days, but they didn’t seem to care. All three are very quiet in the classroom, but once we get to lunch, the chatterboxes emerge from their shells. Some of my favorite moments from my first week were listening to the lunch conversations, and even participating in a few. On our second day, Ja’Kyla, the most outgoing and diva-like of the three, had a question for me: “Are you Indian?” When I answered no, she continued, “Are you black?” Again, I answered no, and she looked confused. I asked her what she was thinking, and she promptly informed me that she had never seen a white girl with dark hair before; “I thought white girls was supposed to have blond hair.” I laughed at the simplicity and innocence of her assumption, but also realized how often we make such overgeneralized assumptions, even as adults.

Johnkeria is my girl. She’s polite and respectful, but it’s clear that she’s eager to learn and loves being at school. On her first day in our classroom, Johnkeria told me that she hated math because she wasn’t good at it. I told her we’d change that, and by the end of the summer she would love math. Today, a week and a half later, as I announced to the class that it was time to break into our small groups for math practice, I caught Johnkeria fist pumping her excitement. Excitement, I said. After only 6 days of class, Johnkeria proudly announced that she loves math. Several times in our past few small group lessons she has said that math is fun and a contagious smile lit up her face. All it took were some number tiles, flashcards, a makeshift whiteboard, a deck of cards and lots of praise and encouragement, and one of my lowest math students is not only progressing, but she loves math. It’s amazing what individual attention and a chance to build up their confidence can do for a child. Johnkeria is reason # 103 that I wake up at 4 am every morning without question or resentment. And just so you know, she scored the only 100% on our bar graph assessment today, and made goal for my collaborative teacher’s assessment, too. But do you want to know what convinces me that I’m doing my job, even more than her 100%? Yesterday, in our reading small group, Johnkeria was practicing putting a sight word, “special”, into a sentence. Here’s what she came up with: “Ms. H. thinks I’m special.” Johnkeria has picked up on the fact that I believe in her, and that’s what matters more than anything. Because now, she believes in herself, and she knows she is a “Math Captain”.

Jasmine is the quietest of the three. Her voice is naturally soft, and even when I try to coax her to use her “big voice” in class, she’s still barely audible. I have a feeling it has more to do with a lack of confidence than anything else, but I can see her starting to come out of her shell a bit and participate more in class. An improvement, considering the first few days of school she received check after check for laying her head down on her desk. Jasmine is also in my small groups for reading and math, and while they are both lower level groups, I can definitely see progress in her work and attitude. She loves doing math flashcards and works really well independently. We found out yesterday that she’s a special education student, something you would think we would have been told earlier. But I’m glad we didn’t know, because I wouldn’t have wanted to treat her any differently. As far as we have seen, she is perfectly capable of learning in the same ways as every other student in our class, and with encouragement and praise is eager to participate. Unfortunately, special education is often used in low-performing schools as a way to separate students who may lower the schools scores if they remain in "regular" classrooms, or when students are hard to manage. I can't imagine that Jasmine fits either of those criteria, but I also can't imagine that she is truly in need of special education. I think a little bit of love and encouragement is doing wonders for her. But I'm no expert.

More student stories later.

On to my blog title....Today was my "TFAvorite" day (we try to work TFA into as many words as possible--so far we only have TFAil, so we could use some help) because we were surprised with an early release from work. Usually after the kids leave we stay until 4:15 for sessions or work time, but today we left at 1:15! It was fabulous. I came home and immediately crashed in my bed for an hour or so, and have been working ever since. The weather has cooled off with the rain that has come through, so we're catching breaks all around!

Thanks for making it this far in my very, very long post. Just so much to say, so many stories, and so many sweet children.

Teacher stories

I have no idea why I am still awake. The past three days, I have had a total of about 8 hours of sleep. Lesson plans, night sessions, making and grading assessments, and collab work have kept me up into the wee hours of the morning, and I am so relieved that it is finally the weekend. But my first week was incredible—I am in love with the 4^th grade. In fact, if I was offered a 4^th grade position that focused only on math (yes, it exists!) I would take it in a heartbeat. My students have quickly become my babies, despite the fact that they are quite a handful. I have loved every minute of being in the classroom, and these kids make me smile every day.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s still hard. Today was a rough day, probably because it was Friday and the kids were just as ready for the weekend as we were. But they were especially antsy and disruptive today, causing me to use my firm and serious teacher voice four times as I scolded them for their disrespectful and unacceptable behavior. Regardless, at the end of the day, they are kids and I love them. It’s so much easier to remember why we’re here when we get to see them everyday, watch them progress, and see how proud they are of themselves when we show them that they can succeed. One of my favorite things about teaching so far is watching the kids try to hide their excitement and pride when I show them their assessment stapled to our “Math Captains” board for reaching our goal of 80% or higher. It’s incredible how much influence you have over how they see themselves, and I feel so lucky that I get to encourage them and assure them that they are smart.

My other favorite thing about teaching: teacher stories. Every day, groups of teachers hang over bus seats, gather around dinner tables, and sit in common areas sharing the humorous and creative words that peppered our lessons. My friend Nikki has a first grader that spends all day rollin around the back of her classroom screaming, “I hate everyone!” Lauren had a three year old doing somersaults in her first grade classroom (he was later removed). Another girl has a student whose first name is A Precious Angel. I have so many great ones of my own, I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe with the students themselves?

Kendrick is pretty big for a rising 4^th grader, in all senses of the word. He’s also a charmer; he frequently tells my collab partners and me that we look nice, that he likes our hair, or that we can’t forget to give him a hug. He’s quite the charmer. He even tried to talk me into giving him a sticker (part of our positive behavior system) for writing on his survey that the most important people in his life were Ms. H, Ms. Parks, Ms. Winters, and Ms. Simon—after only 2 days of knowing us. At lunch one day, the kids were eating nacho chips with taco meat and cheese piled on top—the equivalent to what we called “traveling nachos” in elementary school. I told him that when I was his age, we used to eat something similar but that they would scoop it directly into a bag of Doritos. He paused for a moment, looked at me, and said, “They had Doritos back then?” When I asked him how old he thinks I am, he guessed 36. Oh my.

Makiel (pronounced Mah-kell) is my favorite. He’s one of the smallest in the class, with the most precious baby face and the sweetest demeanor. But don’t let his cute smile fool you—he can be mischievous. However, he is one of our best students in math and always tries very hard, both in academics and in behavior. It’s clear that he’s eager to learn, and he is always one of the first ones to follow the “eyes on me, lips zipped, hands in your lap” directions. He loves stickers and praise and it makes me tear up to see the pride and amazement in his eyes when I show him that he is reaching goal on his math progress tracker. One morning, the warm up activity was a journal prompt to describe a planet that you would create and what it would be like there. Makiel wrote that on his planet, he would be strong, handsome, and have nice hair. I think we have ourselves a future ladies’ man.

Frederick is my problem child. He doesn’t act up for any of the other teachers the way he acts up with me. Which is strange, because I am the toughest on him—he’s already had 2 isolation periods and a silent lunch in only 5 days. I finally pulled him aside yesterday to ask him why he misbehaves in my class, and he told me he doesn’t like sitting with groups. So today we moved his seat to the back of the room, and while he still was a little disruptive, he was engaged in the lesson and wanted to learn how to round. He’s exhausting but I’m excited to see a potential change in him over the next few weeks.

More on my other students in later posts. School in general is going really well. Although lesson planning is hard because we typically have 2 or 3 due at a time, I kind of enjoy some of the planning process and executing the lessons. The problem: we only have 45 minutes to teach a math objective. I’m not seeing the kinds of gains I was hoping for with my students because it’s very difficult to explain how to solve a word problem in 45 minutes and practice enough to be able to take a quiz on it. I need to rethink next week’s lessons and find out how I can really teach them a chunk of the objective effectively enough to master 80% of it. I could go on for hours about teaching, so if you really want to know, email you and I’ll keep you entertained. Just know that I absolutely love it. Granted it’s not quite a realistic situation—9 kids in my classroom—but it’s a start.

Tonight we went to Mrs. Lester’s house, the woman who invited us over last week for some soul food. A group of ten of us went to her house and ate a nice home-cooked meal plus dessert. It was an incredible night—a great taste of the Mississippi culture and hospitality, as well as a look into why this area is the way it is. She was incredibly generous and even invited us to her family reunion, her 4^th of July party, and her church. I wouldn’t mind going back to Mama Lester’s place.

Already gone on way too long, and I’m exhausted. Sleeping in tomorrow!

OTBF

Warning: Long post ahead. But pictures included, so keep reading!

TFA-speak is ridden with acronyms. Pretty much anything that can be shortened, is. My favorite acronym is one that my TTLs (transition team leaders--see?) taught us in our "Institute Survival" session during Induction: OTBF = Opportunity to be flexible. TFA stresses the importance of flexibility from the very beginning, especially in regards to the school in which you will ultimately be placed. Funny thing is, if you had told me two years ago that after college I would be working for an organization whose buzz word is "flexible", I would tell you you're crazy.

I'm the girl with the plan. I distinctly remember filling out a survey in Confirmation class when I was 15 years old, with the question, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" My answer: A school teacher, married to a loving husband with 2 kids, ages 1 and 3 (my precision was astounding, but my accuracy--not so much. I would have to be married with baby #1 by next year--oh my). Twenty-five seemed so old then. Or maybe 10 years just felt so far away. Either way, I had a plan, and I was sticking to it.

If there's one thing I've learned a lot about these past few years, it's trusting God and being flexible. My dream school was Wake Forest, and I never imagined I would up anywhere else. Well, we know the end to that story. All through college my goal was to move to France after graduation. And we DEFINITELY all know that Mississippi does not equal France (my first math lesson this week is on equalities--can you tell?). But I will tell you that learning to be flexible (and I'm not all the way there yet) has led to so many blessings and so many opportunities to see God's hand in my life.

I can imagine many of you are wondering why I chose TFA over France. Many of you have wondered this out loud, to me. Sorry to disappoint, but I don't have an answer that will likely satisfy you. I spent hours and days thinking, discussing, and praying about the two options, and one night, it was just all of a sudden so clear: Teach for America was where I wanted to be right now. I wouldn't necessarily say it was God's voice, since I'm not exactly sure what that means. But I would say it was His grace that finally gave me peace about making a decision, and I knew what to do. And I have known this was the right choice since Day 1 at Induction. Not right in the sense that France would have been wrong. Just simply, right. And right for right now. I know I will go back to France at some point, I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about right now is loving my students and being the best teacher I can be for them. And I've already been blessed with a great community with my ENC Corps Members--something I was desperately seeking after 4 less-than-thrilling years at RMC.

Speaking of that community, ENC's first weekend at Institute was fantastic. I have a rule: no work after 5pm Friday to 10 am Sunday, another gem of wisdom bestowed upon me by my TTLs. Friday was one big day of OTBFs...they've decided to move all the 6th grade students from our school over to the high school, so any CMs who were teaching 6th grade have now been placed in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classrooms--3 days before the first day of school. We've been emailing those CMs our lesson plans since they have nothing for the appropriate grade levels. This was actually a great thing for my team, though, because it means we now have 4 people on a team rather than 2, so half as many lesson plans as before. We spent the rest of the day making posters and getting supplies for our classrooms.

Friday night, Delta State University (where we are staying) hosted a Catfish Cookout in honor of TFA--fried catfish, games, music, and free beer: that's a sign that they really DO love TFA here, since DSU is a dry campus. It was a fun way to start the night and just have an opportunity to socialize after a long, busy week.

That evening, ENC had some bonding time--a throwdown that started in our hallway and eventually moved to the laundry room. We therefore dubbed it "Club Laundry". This picture is 3 of the girls I spend a lot of time with--Krista and Emily are at my school site, and Lauren (right) is my suite mate. Andrew jumped in last minute.

Saturday a group of about 15 of us went on a "hike". I say "hike" because it was more like a nature trail in a park. There are no hills in Mississippi, which may disappoint the adventurer, but I must say I was happy. Below is a picture I took from the hike.

On the way home, someone spotted a tiny bright pink building that was spray painted with a picture of an ice cream cone and the words, "Lester's Fast Food", so we stopped to get a snack. Little did we know we were stopping at Mrs. Lester's house, where she sells ice cream and usually makes food for anyone who comes by, but didn't happen to have anything that day. She was so excited to meet people from "the program" (TFA) that she invited us back over to her house/restaurant for some soul food next Friday night--how fun! That's just a small picture of the hospitality we've experienced since we've been here.

Last night 30 or so of us went out to a local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and dinner--in that order. Another fun night with our group! We are so fortunate to have such a small corps.

Today will be a long day of lesson planning, refining, preparing, meeting with groups, etc. TOMORROW I will walk into a classroom as Ms. Hiltunen--oh. my. goodness.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. And Dad, I know you always do, so thanks and Happy Father's Day :) Love you!

The Little Things

Institute is hard. We were warned well in advance that it would be intense, but there is just no way to grasp how intense until you are here. I have been non-stop from 4 am until at least 9 pm, and was up planning four lessons until 1 am last night. But I distinctly remember praying for rest last night, because I knew three hours of sleep wouldn’t get me through the day. And lo and behold, God delivered. I haven’t felt this energized since day 1. I think part of it was because we had an exciting new element to the day: our kids arrived! They came to school to start their formal reading assessment so that we can figure out what grade level they are at and set goals for their improvement. We got to help administer the assessment so it was a fun change of pace. Chaos broke out when it was dismissal time, though, and 800 kids were corralled into the auditorium to either ride the bus, be picked up, or walk home. The problem: there was no system in place, and no one knew how to get the kids to the right places. Most of the CMs (corps members) were in a session about classroom management, ironically enough, so we didn’t see the madness, but we heard it was pretty stressful.

I’m learning to find joy in the small things. For example, my friend Krista missed the bus to school this morning because she was running late, so she had to make the hour long drive in her own car. This was a treat for the four of us from ENC that stick together, though—on the way home, we got to ride with her in an air-conditioned car! It was such a nice relief from the crowded and often non-air-conditioned buses, not to mention good time for four of us to share stories of the day. Plus, we got beat the rush to the dining hall and actually sit at a meal for more than 10 minutes!

I’m also finding the morning bus ride to be somewhat enjoyable. I spend a little time reading Scripture, listening to music, praying, and preparing for the day, and sometimes getting in a quick nap. Things that I’ve been having a hard time finding time to do.

I get so excited to see people that I know from ENC on the hall or on campus because we are all so busy. Those moments make me happy; it’s great to be in community. It’s the little things that I’m learning to grasp onto here at Institute, and I’ve heard that will remain true throughout my teaching career. God’s already teaching me lessons to carry into my new career.

I’ve talked to a few people from home, and everyone keeps asking me, “How is Mississippi?” It’s an interesting question. The idea of Mississippi is great. The people love Teach for America here, and we already have events in our honor over the next month—a catfish cookout tomorrow night and a 4^th of July celebration. The people are warm, welcoming, and always smiling. But the state itself—not my favorite. It’s at least 100 everyday, with a heat index much higher. The mosquitoes are unbearable. I have 20 bites on one foot alone—I look like I have chicken pox. We are constantly itching and scratching and squashing. We can’t even eat in peace; they’ve invaded the dining hall, too. It’s pretty much miserable to be outside at any given point during the day. After work tomorrow I will be begging someone with a car to drive me to Walmart for bug spray—I can’t stand it anymore.

Only 4 more days until my first lesson as Ms. Hiltunen—holy cow!

Mississippi Heat

Ah, Mississippi. I think I am developing a love-hate relationship with the Magnolia State. Hot sun, sticky sweat, beautiful country roads, endless TFA sessions, a sweet southern hospitality, and a 4:00 am wake up call. That’s my life here in Cleveland, MS. It’s easy to complain, but it’s also hard to forget why I’m here when I think about the precious fourth graders that will walk into my classroom next week who are grade levels behind in math and reading. Yup, that’s right. Fourth grade. Elementary school. And yup, you heard me—four o’clock am. Our bus leaves for Coleman/Manning Elementary, my placement school, at 5:23 am. We have to be at breakfast by 5 (the earliest the dining hall opens) and leave enough time to go through a lunch line, where we fill our (drab) Delta State University lunch boxes with an entrée, two sides of our choosing, a drink and an ice pack. I honestly feel like an elementary schooler myself, loading the cheese wagon with my dorky lunch box and trying to fight the first day jitters. But we survived Day 1 of our school visits, and we’ll be back at it by 5:23 am tomorrow.

Most of the day was information sessions and meeting in our small groups with our Corps Member Advisors (CMAs) to discuss our placement grades, subjects, expectations, lesson planning, etc. We’ll start learning how to write lesson plans tomorrow, and will have our first three lessons due Thursday morning. It’s like education classes on steroids. I’ll be team teaching with a girl from another region, and we’ll switch off teaching math and reading—the first two weeks of math for me, followed by two weeks of reading. The afternoons/evenings will be reserved for more information sessions and lesson planning. I will admit I’m a little afraid of 25 fourth graders, but I’m also really, really excited. We start officially teaching a week from today.

Everything else about Institute is great. Yesterday, we went through a very organized, run-of-the mill registration, with plenty of tables and a heaping pile of city maps, menus, and the infamous “Bounder”, a 2-inch think bound notebook of all the readings we will be doing in the next 5 weeks. We were greeted at our dorms by local boy scouts and college-aged students, who helped unload our cars and handed us ice cold bottles of water. A great introduction to the Deep South. Most of day/night 1 was trips to Walmart, a cookout, and hanging out with our region. Maybe one of the best things about Institute is the fact that all of our ENC Corps Members live on the same floor of the dorm, and we’ve invested in door stops so we can wander in and out of each others rooms. We’re one of the smaller corps here (there are people from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Houston corps—a total of over 500 people) and it shows—we all already know each other and spend a lot of time together.

Hard to believe we were all in North Carolina together just a few days ago for Induction.

I may quite possibly remember my first few moments at Induction for the rest of my life. I walked into the hotel and a Program Director immediately welcomed me and handed me a 1” binder with color-coded divider tabs, a table of contents, and everything I could possibly need to know about the week. It was heaven, I tell you, HEAVEN. I knew immediately that this was the place for me, and the rest of the week only confirmed that for me. ENC TFA is incredibly structured, organized, well-thought out, and planned. All of the staff is amazing and friendly, and it is clear from the get go that they truly believe what they are fighting for: closing the achievement gap.

The achievement gap may well be one of the most important TFA buzz words. In a nutshell, it refers to the fact that 1 in 10 kids living in poverty won’t graduate from high school, and those that do typically graduate years behind in math, reading, and other critical skills. Again, I encourage you to check out TFA’s website at www.teachforamerica.org to get a bigger picture as one of the nation’s most underexposed problems. On a similar note, check out the trailer for the new movie “Waiting for Superman” that’s coming out soon (maybe only in select theaters)—Michelle Rhee is a former TFA corps member and the current chancellor of schools in Washington, D.C. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEFhb2Z7LCY

Just experienced a little more Delta excitement—the power went out campus wide during our rotating sessions! We had to walk back in the pitch black. It’s now WAY past my bed time (10:45 pm…I have to be up in less than 6 hours!) so I’m signing off. Good night!

Crazy love

I am excited to share with you the news that I am leaving today (Tuesday, June 8) to begin the first part of my summer training for Teach For America. You may or may not know that I have accepted a job teaching in a low-income community in rural Eastern North Carolina through TFA. My tentative placement is in middle school math (my first choice!), but it will all depend on where the needs are the highest. Training runs through July 17th (one week in NC, 5 weeks in Mississippi), and I move to Carolina for a two-year commitment on July 28th. If you've never heard of TFA, I encourage you to check out their mission at www.teachforamerica.org. I am incredibly excited to join the team and play even a tiny role in working for educational justice.

I know what you're thinking: "A French major teaching middle school math? In rural North Carolina? Your last summer of freedom wasted on training? Are you crazy?" Well, my friends, the truth is: maybe I am.

But if there's one thing that my amazing friends have taught me these past few years, it's that life isn't worth living unless you're willing to take risks, go with the flow, love others, and trust in the Lord (JV, CR, and AP I am forever indebted to your free spirits). Some people see this as the easy way out. Others see it as a ridiculous feat that will only exhaust me and leave me disappointed. The people that love me the most see it as an opportunity for me to grow and pursue a calling I have always felt: teaching. As for me, I see it as blessing, a challenge, and an opportunity to learn lessons in love.

"You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." 2 Corinthians 9:11

Paul may have been writing to the Corinthians, but he might as well have been writing to me. I have been blessed beyond belief these past 21 years. My parents have worked hard to provide Amanda and I with a beautiful house, cars, food, clothing, gadgets, and an education. But these past four years have taught me that I'm rich in many other ways, too. What has no doubt made the biggest difference in my life is my support team: family, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, etc. I have always, always, had people cheering me on and encouraging me. This kind of love and support is by far one of the most precious riches I could ever ask for. God has made me rich so that I can share with others. Sharing: an essential kindergarten lesson that is often lost on us before middle school. But as I have reflected on my past in the process of deciding my future, it has become clear to me that I have an incredible opportunity to do just that in these next two years, and hopefully beyond.

I have always loved teaching. Just ask my stuffed animals, who were often subjected to daily make-believe school sessions when I was little. One of my favorite childhood Christmas presents was a school kit, complete with library cards, hall passes, attendance sheets, and a chalkboard. I still remember a handful of the names on my roll call (many named after characters from my favorite books, like the Babysitter's Club). In 5th grade, I tutored a 3rd grader weekly and bought him little prizes from the bookstore when he did well. In high school, I tutored in a 2nd grade classroom and helped develop an after-school program at my old elementary school to teach kids French. I taught Sunday school with a friend and was a volunteer swim coach for the youngest swimmers. In college, I helped a friend teach tennis lessons (no, you did not miss a memo, I am not a tennis player--but I can hold a racket better than a 6 year old) and tutored Economics, French, and Accounting I. My teaching experience has come in many forms, although never professionally, and I have loved every minute of it. But what I love more than teaching is seeing a student work hard, understand, and eventually succeed.

Why did I choose this means of teaching, rather than the traditional route of studying education in college and getting a job in a suburb of Richmond? Honestly, I don't know what changed my mind. I applied to colleges with an intended major in Education, but quickly changed to French when I got to Randolph-Macon. And I'm so grateful for this change of heart, because I got to work with some great professors, spend almost 4 months living in France, and learn a language that I love. But now, I have an incredible opportunity to pursue a career that I have always wanted, and fill a huge need. Blessings, friends...that's all I can say.

I do not by any means expect this experience to be easy and pleasant. I do, however, expect to share the same encouragement that you all have so lovingly given me so that even one kid (but hopefully many more) who is considered "at-risk" can defy the odds and have the same opportunities I have had. I expect long hours, hard work, frustration, exhaustion, and sometimes seemingly fruitless labor. Sounds appealing, no? Well, no one ever said this would be easy. But for many of these kids, education is critical. It's their ticket to better life. And if I'm passionate about education, why would I NOT want to bring that passion to the kids who need it the most?

Plus, I expect to have to depend on God for the strength that I will need to love and teach these kids the best I can. And what's better than drawing closer to Him?

I hope you will join with me in rooting on my future students. Thanks for visiting and keep checking back! I cannot wait to share with you the successes, failures, struggles, and growth from this experience. Bookmark/follow me to keep up :)