I'm Worn Out!

I know I haven't written in a while and I apologize for that. This is so for two reasons: 1) I haven't really thought of anything too exciting to write about, and 2) Like the title states, I AM WORN OUT and in the midst of a busy life...

We have been in school for a month now. And I can't tell you how much I love this year. Everyone says junior year is your hardest academic year, but it isn't so much that as it is that I am simply so busy. And to be honest...I'm tired. For the past two or three weeks now I have just been going, going, going. Not that I don't take my little rests and breaks every day, but there is always somewhere someone in my family needs to be and something I need to do for school, even if it is only to help me get ahead. In fact, we have so many things to do and places to be that my mom had to put up a family calendar on our fridge so we can keep up with everything. This is just something we aren't quite used to.

But I also know that God is in control and He is helping me get through all the busyness. In fact, there is one way in which He has helped me and I just keep thanking Him for it. I just noticed it this week, but I am so thankful that I don't have a job. Crazy sounding, I know...especially coming from a high schooler's mouth. But it's true! Towards the end of this summer I applied for three different jobs (well, two of them were the same place just at different locations). I was really hoping for a job that would put a little money in my pocket and I just prayed that I would get a job at the place God wanted me at and at the time God had planned for me. This was such a hard prayer to pray, because I really wanted a job. But I am so thankful that I did not get a job. My life right now is too busy for one. I think my stress level would put me beyond breaking point and I would be in tears right now. But I'm not. Just this week, I have had/will have SIX different club meetings to go to. That's more clubs than there are school days!!! And I know that I would be even more exhausted if I had to go to a job on top of all that. So, again I will say, THANK YOU GOD THAT I DON'T HAVE A JOB!!! ☺ This is just another way God is showing me that He knows what's best for me and how He is taking care of me with my best interests at heart. So until next time...

Annie ♥

Junior Year is Finally Here!!!

If you are anything like me, then you are the type of person who can't wait for the next school year to get here. You are someone who can't sleep the night before and ends up staring at the ceiling for hours. You are also someone who gets really excited over school supplies, finding out your class schedule, and organizing your papers with dividers. Well, this is how I have been for the last week or two...

As of today, August 2nd, I am officially a JUNIOR in high school. This completely blows my mind! I am so ecstatic to be entering into this next stage of my life. I am also trying to grasp the idea that I am almost finished with high school. Common knowledge is that junior year is one of the hardest years in high school. Not only is the work starting to get harder with A.P. classes, but this year I will have to start visiting colleges, zoning in on a college and major, taking the ACT and/or SAT, looking up scholarships and which ones I can apply for, trying to get a job, and the list goes on. But hopefully it won't be as bad as everyone says and I will have some fun. I also cannot wait to see what God teaches me this year and how I grow spiritually and emotionally.

Freedoms

"Why don't we use our freedoms and liberties that so many people fought and died for?"


This quote came to me from a man who came to speak to my church family and me one Sunday at the end of May. The thought of it is so fascinating and, at times, earth-shattering. When you think about it, it gets you to analyze how we, as Americans and Christians, use our American freedoms in our daily life to live out our Faith. We have to ask ourselves, "What am I doing in my daily life to make sure I don't let those freedoms go to waste?" Part of using our freedoms consists of being conscious of our actions. Be intentional of how you live. And continue to use the freedoms our country was built upon and the freedoms men and women fought and died for in order to give us a better life. If we don't, we might wake up one day and find ourselves without the freedoms and justices that are so important to us.

Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV

P.S. I know it is past the Fourth of July, but I believe anytime is a good time to talk about our freedoms, especially before the start of a new school year filled with opportunities to use them.

Two Weeks and Four Days...

There are only two weeks and four days left until school starts again for me. And other schools are not far behind. This is only about half a month to eat, sleep, and finish summer reading. All we have left is two and a half weeks to travel with family and friends. School will be here before you know it. Life is too short in which to waste these two weeks and four days. We should all be preparing for this next school year, this next phase of life. For me, I will be a junior and have to seriously start looking at colleges. I have the ACT and SAT to take. I have one more year with my friends who will be seniors. But more importantly, I look forward to another year to be an example of who God is. I have another year where I can grow spiritually, pray, and be a leader for Christ. Am I guaranteed this next year? No. I, along with everyone else on Earth, am not even guaranteed my next breath. But I will try my best to live for God and not loose sight of Him for every moment He allows me.

Home Again, Home Again

I am home! The last five weeks of my life have been amazing. I have learned, grown, and experienced different things. I would not trade the last five weeks for anything in the world. I would highly recommend governor's school to anyone who has an interest in it. Not only did I learn more about the teaching profession, but I got to learn some personal life lessons, as well. I know there is a reason God let me go and a reason it was this summer. I am seeing this more and more as time goes on, even if I do not know all the reasons yet. I am so thankful for this time in my life and am still trying not to burst into tears at every waking moment when I think about it. We all became a family there. When you live, eat, and play with people for a over a month, this is what happens. Thus, that is another reason why it was so hard and sad to leave. Therefore, I can say nothing but good things about governor's school and encourage anyone who has an interest in it to apply.

Mixed Emotions

Do you ever have one of those moments when you truely enjoy what you are doing and want it to last forever? When you cannot even imagine yourself doing anything else because it seems so natural for you...but at the same time, you want life to progress, to go on. I am having one of those days/weeks. I have enjoyed my time immensly here at governor's school. It feels like I have been here forever and cannot even imagine what life will be like this Friday when I go back home. We have genuinely become like family here and I am not looking forward to saying all of my good-byes. However, I am excited to go back home to my friends and family. It seems as though I have missed so much back home and cannot wait to hear all the stories.

So, while I am excited to catch up on all of the events back home and see all my friends and family, I am sad to be leaving governor's school and my month of learning and fun.

Days 17-25 - Teaching Experiences

During the past week I have had the opportunity to taste a little bit of what teachers do. I taught students going into fifth and sixth grade with two other governor's school students. We did this through a program called Youth University (YU) at UT Chattanooga. It was an awesome experience. We all had to do thorough lesson plans, implement guidelines and classroom rules, practice classroom management, and teach for an hour and twenty minutes. While we were doing all of these things we were also getting observed by UTC staff and some of our governor's school counselors. They all gave us a lot of input, including things we did very well and things we needed to improve on. It was a tremendous learning experience that I can reflect on as I am considering a career in education.

My group was given the topic of Knights and Castles. What we did was we took that topic and taught about things related to that time period, the Middle Ages. Every day we had the kids interact with us while we were teaching and we periodically completed projects so the kids had something hands-on to do and so they could have a chance to be creative. This worked very well for us and it seems that the kids learned a lot. By today, they could respond appropriately to questions we asked them about topics discussed this week. They all also did very well on a jeopardy game we played in class today. This also happens to be a jeopardy game that we designed in our tech class.

This week was very fun, but also hard work. I learned some things I am good at and some things I need help with. But after all, an effective teacher is always learning and seeing what works and what does not.