I'm Rearranging

Earlier this week I made the spontaneous decision to rearrange my entire living room. Through the course of my life as a student (elementary, middle, high school, and college), I have learned that in order to keep myself motivated to do my school work, my surroundings need to change every so often. Sometimes I'll study in my room at my desk or move to our dining room table. These past few weeks I have been using the desk in our living room and have been doing my homework there.

Then last week after feeling in a bit of a slump, I decided one afternoon to rearrange my living room and study area. I put away things that were left sitting out for several days, got rid of the accumulated junk on my desk, and switched out the layout of my study area. It took a good 2 hours to finish the job but nonetheless it was accomplished.

Here are two pictures of my study area:

I arranged the area to mimic an office. Because my home has a very open floor plan, finding a dedicated study area other than my room can be difficult. I wanted this space, although small, to be a productive area and I think that I accomplished this goal because it has been working out for me these several days.

A change of scenery is good. Whenever I feel that I am not working productively to the best of my abilities, I like to change up my surroundings. It can be as small as rearranging the items on your desk or flipping the layout of a room. Regardless, I hope you can find a change to help make your life more productive! Have a great weekend!

Passing with Flying Colors

"Everything you want is on the other side of fear." - Unknown.

The worrying and anxiety over taking my first of three Praxis tests can now cease because I just passed the reading section! The past few weeks have been extremely stressful for me because I was so worried that I did not have enough time to study for this section and that I would not be able to pass it but I did!

The night before taking the test, my stomach was twisting and turning and thoughts of doubt were on my mind. I was worried that one or multiple of the following things would happen to me: 1) I would forget to print out my admission ticket, 2) I would forget my admission ticket at home, 3) I would forget to bring an ID, 4) they would require 2 forms of ID (I only have 1 at the moment), 5) my name would not be accepted at the test center (I had some difficulty signing up), or 6) I would be late. I felt that something was going to go wrong and it would prevent me from taking the test. All these thoughts were running through my mind and I had difficulty falling asleep. To make sure I had all the things necessary for the test and test center, I read every single word on the admission ticket provided to me as well as any other information I needed from the Praxis website. I wanted to be extremely prepared for this!

When I woke up, I had a checklist of all the things I needed to bring with me. I made sure to not forget anything. But sleeping and getting ready the morning of the test were the least of my problems. During the entire 15 minute car ride, I was praying that I would be able to take the test and that I would pass.

When I arrived at the testing center, I think the receptionist knew I was a newbie at all this. She was very helpful and sweet. I had a slight issue with the way I wrote my name on my account. I had put my middle name with my first name when I was supposed to have it as a middle initial. I do not know why I did that when I would normally have them separate but nonetheless, after the receptionist talked to the administrator, they said it was fine and I could take the test. Everyone was super kind which was a relief because I did not want to deal with someone who had a bad attitude at 8 in the morning.

After the hour and 25 minutes, I passed. I passed. I walked out of there the happiest and most relieved I have ever been in my life. I think if I had not passed I would have been so devastated. I probably would have cried! This first test meant so much to me and passing it means even more. I never realized how strongly I felt about becoming a teacher until this point. Although I still have the writing and mathematics section to get through, I now know that I can do it. I am one step closer to achieving my goals and making my dream come true. I learned thought the experiences of others, struggled through the studying, but conquered at the end.

Overwhelmed.

Right now, I am feeling very overwhelmed. This week seems to be so busy and it is only the beginning. Tonight, I have a board meeting, I need to get my notes for my statistics class organized because we have a test on Wednesday, and then on Thursday I have a hike before my 11 o'clock class, and finally on Friday I take one of three PRAXIS tests.

I am at the point where I know I have a load of things to do that take a while but I am stuck not knowing where to begin. I hate this feeling because it stresses me out and I hate being stressed out. I wish that I could go back and undo the procrastinating of things. As I sit here writing this post, I am thinking about the load of work I have to do but I am also very tired.

How do I balance out working and sleeping? The task seems very much impossible.

Fanuchånan 2017

This blog post is the first of many posts that will include what I'm learning as a college student, moments when I am struggling, as well as the little and big victories that I will face.

This Fanuchånan (Fall) semester I have five classes that I am taking. These classes include:

• ED271 - Technology Applications for Education;  MA151 - Introductory Statistics;  ED215 - Intro to Exceptional Individuals;  BI100 - Environmental Biology;  BI100L - Environmental Biology LAB.

We've reached the fourth week of the semester and I have narrowed down which classes I like more than the others. So far, my favorite class would have to be ED271 -- Technology Applications for Education, which is this class! I like the fact that in this class I am able to use my creative skills and use new technological tools geared towards education. I know that the skills I learn in this class will help me as a future teacher.