Immediately following my 3rd breakup I decided to consume my time with 3 jobs.
I subsequently worked at Fairmont Private Schools from 7-9AM, did my student teaching from 9 – 2PM, and YMCA from 2-6 pm in order to distract myself from the heartbreak. It consumed my whole day.
Coming off the high that was summer camp, Fairmont was an easy experience supervising elementary school students in the morning before they went to their class. The YMCA was an interesting experience and gave me opportunities to deal with high school students in a realistic public school setting. During detention some of them did not comply or follow directions, (including one that twerked on the desks) and so I quickly realized teaching would not be a cakewalk. I also observed some credit recovery classes, noticing the teacher lecturing while sitting down the entire time. It was a learning experience in and of itself.
Of course the bulk of my year comprised of student teaching. Taking classes that didn’t help at all, and working with a master teacher who tried her best to teach me how to manage the classroom. Unfortunately, my confidence was not quite good at the time, and so I made the mistake many young teachers make. I became friends with the kids. So when it came time for them to do work, it was hard to “force them” to do anything. And yet, I still think I learned quite a lot this year, in terms of how to build creative lesson plans for students, and also how to slowly build positive and meaningful relationships with students. I’m forever indebted to my master teacher for “teaching me the ropes” so to speak. Still, I had much to learn, and it would only take more experience for me to get there.
I also entered my 4th relationship at the time, bonding over our departure from Circle K, not knowing that it would be the worst one I would ever have. I should have seen the red flags when she didn’t want the relationship to be public. I thought it would be temporary but it would last well into into 9 months of secrecy and lies.
I hit 100 visits at Phil’s BBQ this year, culminating in a fun trip where I rented out the event center for my friends and I. The day included fun activities, games, and even prizes for many of my guests. I remember my friend Bijan pre-paying for the vegetarian meal. And so when he tried to get the “meat” meal, I quickly stood up and stopped him immediately. Good times.
Summer camp was a fantastic farewell to California, not knowing I would be quickly leaving for Las Vegas the following year to teach fulltime.
