Summer 2011 Bucket List

1. Go to the beach...a lot
2. Go to Six Flags New England... a lot
3. Volunteer
4. Read what I want to read, not what is assigned
5. Go to New York City
6. Sit around a campfire with friends
7. Buy a cheap bike and go biking on the paths in RI
8. Take a lot of pictures, and learn how to be better at taking pictures
9. Tour a winery or brewery...or both
10. Go to a flea market

Maybe it's the end of the semester, or the beautiful 75 degree weather after a long winter, but my mind is thinking about summer. Even in class, no especially in class, all I do lately is think about how excited I am to spend the summer in Rhode Island. I think have a beach only a few minutes away explains it all. Two weeks from today and I will be officially on vacation for three and a half months. Well at least a vacation from school and homework.

Well class is concluding and I have accomplished a few things while sitting here. I wrote a bucket list for the summer and wrote my newest blog. Don't worry, I am a wonderful multi-tasker, so I was also able to participate in discussion and take notes. Summer 2011, I will see you soon!

P.S. If you have any other suggestions for this bucket list let me know!

My passion

So I came home from school today, sat down at my desk and began writing some essays for scholarships that my school offers for education students. The essays discussed things like my background and future plans for teaching as well as how I show dedication to teaching students who are underprivileged and have learning disabilities. So now I will continue this and tell all of you about why I chose teaching as my profession, my passion.

Throughout my educational career, since the day I stepped into my kindergarten classroom I have been influenced by both really good teachers and some not so good teachers. I have chosen education as my profession because I have a passion for learning and working with kids. I believe my personal qualities of being caring, patient and always willing to help, make me well suited to be an educator and work with young minds. Watching and facilitating in the personal and academic growth of the students is very rewarding in itself. My goals as a teacher are to help students find success, learn and grow academically and emotionally, as well as help students develop a level of confidence in which they believe they can reach any goal they set with hard work, determination and perseverance. I believe it is important to teach students about themselves and teach the child as a whole rather than focus on only the subject matter in which you are trained in. It is important to provide an environment where students feel safe and welcomed. I have put much thought into teaching at inner-city schools, where school may be one of the only places some students feel safe at. My education as well as the education of others is of deep importance to me and with this attitude I hope to reach out to as many students as I can throughout my lifetime and provide them with everything that I can to help them have the tools needed for success.

I hear stories from my sister Katie, and other friends of mine that are teachers and I get more and more excited each time. :) Only two more weeks left this semester and then only two years left of college and I will be applying to school districts(who knows where :) )

I See Stars Concert

So, last week Tuesday Chris called me at work so excited because one of his all time favorite bands, I See Stars, was coming to Boston. I also saw this band last year and really enjoyed them, so I knew I could finagle something with work the next day and change my hours around so we could go to the concert.

So on Wednesday Chris, our friend Max, and I road-tripped up to the Boston in the pouring rain. Once we arrived, found parking, and ran a couple of blocks, again in the pouring rain, we arrived at the show. There were a few bands that played before I See Stars and we stood in the back of the crowd for these. As we stood there Chris explained his game plan to me.He wanted us to make our way up to the front for his band. The plan was that when the mosh pit opened up we would walk quickly through it and just like that be in the front. So the drums and guitar start and Chris grabs my hand and pulls starts walking forward, when suddenly out of nowhere I get slammed into, lose Chris's hand and end up on the floor. So not only am I on the floor but people are jumping around and banging into each other. Now I tried to get up once, but got knocked into again. I tried to get up twice, but again got knocked into. So I gave up, assumed the fetal position, and started saying a few prayers. Well, until my favorite Nike shoe got torn off my foot. Then I was mad. Nobody, I mean nobody gets in the way of me and my shoes.
Well before I could get too mad about my shoe I feel Chris grab onto me and scream "I got you, Erin." After several attempts of Chris trying to help me up, because of everyone smashing him into me, I got up and got out of the pit. I was shaking and crying, and felt like puking. But I calmed down, and then pointed out to Chris that I lost my shoe. I began crying again, realizing my shoe was out there on the floor somewhere. Alone. Cold. Feeling unloved. I bet it was thinking I didn't love it anymore. Well, we enjoyed the rest of the concert and found my shoe about an hour later.

Although, I left the concert with ringing ear, a good story and a hour drive home in front of me with practicum in the morning the best part is below.

Here is my ticket signed by Devin Oliver, the lead singer for I See Stars.


And here I am with his arms around me. I think he wanted to ask me for my phone number but he didn't want the girls around me to get jealous and catty.

P.S. I bowled a 121 last week :)

According to the countdown on Ryan and Heidi's blog I have 39 days before I will become Auntie Erin. I can't wait to meet the little bundle of joy!

I know Ryan and Heidi will be wonderful loving parents and give this little boy everything he needs. He is so lucky to have you two as his parents(no matter how you met). The genuine qualities the both of you hold make it easy for anyone who has met you to know you make a great team together and will be the caring, nurturing mommy and daddy any little newborn deserves.

When Ryan and Heidi announced they were pregnant, I was so happy I couldn't believe it. I decided to post the following video below. Some of us have quite the facial expressions and reactions!








I love you Ryan and Heidi! I am so happy you found love in another and now get to share it with the family you are starting. I can already here him cheering for Bucky!

Malibu Molly

So many people who are writing blogs have been using prompts following the 30 Day Blog Challenge. The point of the challenge is to write a post every day for thirty days and then decide if you want to continue blogging. I decided to take a blog prompt today and I decided to write about a wonderful friend I am blessed to have.

Last semester I moved into an apartment with three other girls. I knew two of the girls but only knew the name of the third girl. Molly. One of the first days in our apartment I was sitting at the table eating, when in walked Molly pretty upset. Not knowing her very well, I gave her a hug and asked her what was wrong. I thought I would probably get a response of "I'll be fine" but instead she explained to me how she missed her best friend she had met in Portland, Maine through the National Student Exchange program. I immediately connected with her and we shared stories back and forth about our time on exchange. I sometimes wonder if Molly didn't walk in that door crying if we would have connected like we have.

Molly and I both moved out of Wisconsin recently, myself to Rhode Island and her to Arizona. We are both extremely happy where we live now and love filling each other in on everything going on in our lives. I know Molly will always be a part of my life and someone I can go to when I am having a bad day.

Here are a few awesome things about Molly I want to share.
1. Molly will never turn down eating ice cream with me, even in the cold of winter.
2. Molly graduated college in 3.5 years!
3. If you ask Molly what she wants to do when talking about jobs and careers she always says "I just want to do good!" Molly- you are such an inspiration to me!

4. Molly eats peanut butter right out of the jar all the time. I would even hid my peanut butter so that she wouldn't eat mine too :)

Here is just a few of Molly's peanut butter jars

at the end of the semester.

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU MOLLY!

Can I get over 100?

So, I joined a bowling league. An official league where you switch lanes between each frame. Bowling, like most every sport, is not something I am terribly good at. Each week I set a goal of at least getting over 100. Well, yesterday was the day! I bowled a 119! No bumpers either. What makes me even prouder of this high score is that I bowled such a great score after such a long day of shopping at an outlet mall in Massachusetts.

I have a lot of fun bowling and I really am trying to improve. I am right-handed and I always curve my hand so the ball ends up going in the left gutter some of the time. I have tried moving my feet over to the right a little bit, thinking this would force the ball to hit the pins just right. Nah, I usually end up throwing the ball into the right gutter. Hmm, I will get it someday. I do occasionally bowl a strike but usually follow that up with a gutter ball.

Thankfully this bowling league is recreational instead of professional. I am glad Chris, who joined this league with me doesn't mind my terrible bowling too much, or at least he doesn't make it noticeable to me that I need some work. He does coach me and cheer me on when I do something well.

The awesome thing about this is league is no matter what your score, no matter how well you do, you get a summer pass to Six Flags New England. It's like every time I release that ball I can see myself being strapped in a roller coaster and spinning round-and-round. For some reason Six Flags always makes me think of DippinDots too! And I am always in the mood for ice cream.

So now as I make my way to class that is from 6:00 to 8:30 tonight, I know I will be thinking about ice cream at least for the next two and a half hours until I go home and can have some.