Friday, September 27, 2013

Resurfacing... just in time for Fall Semester

I've started this entry twenty-six ways til Sunday. I have paragraphs and pages drafted, which become lost under piles of paper and school books. My friends, I have been in Graduate School.  Almost a year ago, I wrote a Thanksgiving entry about non-gratitude, and an angel responded to it, and offered to give me assistance in realizing my dream of becoming a teacher.  Graduate School at my age is not easy. One of my classmates last semester was incredulous that the rumors of "going under" were true. She told me "I always heard about people dropping out of the picture and resurfacing two years later with a degree. I didn't think that would actually happen to me." Honestly, I didn't think it would happen to me either. I have had a lot reactions from people about my decision; mostly positive, but there have been cacklers (I would NEVER do that! You're crazy!).  And.. me being me, I think more about the cacklers.

I've had a lot of doubt, written a TON of pages of academic APA style writing, the origins of which still make no sense to me. I mean, why must we use a tool that the American Psychology Association created for our academic writing on Learning Theory? I've called my mother more than I have ever in my life. I've cried, I've struggled through texts that are so arcane and boring, but I made it through my first semester ...with flying colors, much to my surprise.

After traveling most of the summer, and bouncing to and from my temporary housing in Wellfleet, I am back on the Cape just in time for fall classes to begin.  I can report they are much like a chariot race must have been. Stampeding, dust flying, unable to really steer around the bend, the six or eight horses a heavy load to wield, speeding along to a finish line you cannot see with the thrill pounding in your breast.
So bear with me - I want to stay in touch with all of you lovely friends. I feel so removed, buried in my books and my classroom observations and my exhilaration, my fears, that I forget to post, even 500 words, to let you know where and how I am doing and to find out from you what adventures you are in the midst of...

Please comment - I love to hear from you!

13 comments:

David L said...

Go under! Burrow! Dwell! Dig! We will be here when you come up for air or up and out. Missing you is part of the process. It's meant to be difficult. We love you completely. We are there in the silence of boring books. And you are in my heart asking my how my day was more times than you can ever know. I adore you Kat, David

Anonymous said...

So proud of you! You will be an awesome teacher & the world a better place with you in it. Keep up the great work.
xo
La

Lori Gray said...

Thrilled for you Kat - I have always admired you and your
joie de vie, (and I don't even speak French) - please keep writing - thank you for staying in touch - Lori L

Lori Gray said...

Thrilled for you Kat - have always admired your zest for life, your
joie de vie,(and I don't even speak French) - thank you for staying in touch - keep writing!

Lori L

toni said...

You never cease to amaze. Your path
reminds me of off-roading. Sometimes you can't see what lies ahead until it is too late to turn back and therein lies the thrill.
You will enlighten and learn in the classroom.
Hugs
t

Ladi Di said...

hi kat, i am so proud of you and all that you do to make yourself a better person and the world a better place..i so admire you...good luck, my friend...best, lady di

Unknown said...

Dearest Kat,
I was so happy to see your announcement of a blog today, when I opened up my computer in Williams, AZ. You go girl. You are one of my four pride and joys, and I am so proud of you. Now its my turn to post a blog. People have been waiting since May or June, after I made the grand statement that I was going to post every week.! Hah, that sure never happened.
I love you very very much, MOM

Zee said...

Excellent! Teaching is a wonderful, difficult, rewarding, charitable and meaningful way to spend your days (and of course there are those sweet summer vacations, too) and you will be an excellent teacher! Hang in there! So glad to hear its going well!

DCSeafarer said...

Fabulous!!!! So beyond envy since you have a great intellect and will make a difference. It is all about the human experience. Things become more interesting the deeper we delve.
Love you!

Bea said...

Good for you, Kat! The more good folk in the teaching biz, the better. May your studies go well this semester.

All the best und liebe Grüsse aus Zürich!

Unknown said...

kat, you will be an amazing teacher! so much to say and share. i'm proud of you. i get it about going underground. i was
there for a few years while i cared for my parents. and now i've re-entered my writing life, and am trying to catch up with myself. once we both come up for air, it would be great to have some time to visit and catch up with each other. sending love and rooting you on... xoxo

Mark Hugh Miller said...

Brava, Gato!

Unknown said...

Great postings Kat and I am glad I found your blog! Looking forward to having you do your student teaching in my classroom. The students are lucky. Very excited!!

Shameless Crushes...

find life experiences and swallow them whole.
travel.
meet many people.
go down some dead ends and explore dark alleys.
try everything.
exhaust yourself in the glorious pursuit of life.
-lawrence k. fish

Yoga For Peace

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Never Let Me Go
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Bel-Ami
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A Passage to India
The Time Traveler's wife
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
One Hundred Years of Solitude
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Slaughterhouse-Five
Les Misérables
The Lovely Bones
1984
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