First steps

It is time. I have finally committed to a path for my future. Yes, I admit I made the decision over a week ago. Much has happened in the meantime, though. This includes a whirlwind trip to New Orleans (literally less than 48 hours, which is not much time to absorb all that comes with the city), and graduation from college. I have some rather ridiculous pictures and a substitute diploma to prove it.

The trip:
New Orleans is unlike anything I've ever experienced. The culture is entirely foreign and different than what I've lived in before. It's beautiful and intricate and honestly overwhelming. The variety of architecture is stunning. The city itself is not the only attraction, though. Flying in over the bayou was incredible. I couldn't at first figure out what made the landscape so colorful. I would have been highly disappointed if I am supposed to be teaching and I'm not smart enough to distinguish swamp from solid ground. I did get to eat a wonderful variety of native food and drive down St. Charles Street (where the Mardi Gras parades pass, and the trees look as if they are growing multicolored moss as evidence).

I also visited a school in a district outside of Greater New Orleans. I went to work with the Teach for America corps members who had offered me their home for the night. This visit is what finally convinced me. It was nothing spectacular. Just regular, goofy middle-schoolers desperate for attention and assistance. I had the pleasure of sitting with several of the students and helping them figure out some of their math assignments. I got to be a tutor for a few hours, and I loved it!

Graduation:
One big party. Family from across the country came to celebrate with my sister and me. Parents, aunts and uncles, even my older sister and brother-in-law found room in town or came for the day. I am thrilled that my family uses any excuse to get together. Though we didn't have long together, I could not have asked for more love and laughter. It ended too soon, and we headed back home, far away. Far away from friends at school, friends at church, friends now also across the country. I will truly miss them, and I pray our paths cross again some day soon.

Dear friends, for those who actually made it through this post, I thank you, and I hope you know how much I care about you. Please say hi. Please.

Now on with the journey.

Life's a trip.

Let me rephrase that: life is a journey. It's one experience after another, and we have to pay attention, or we'll miss the important things as we let the time roll by. We'll keep racing toward an end without seeing the value of how we got there. Take the trip for the sake of the journey, the process, the experience.

Yep, I'm going to visit New Orleans--on their dollar. Teach for America is paying for me to go out there to look at the school they might have me teach in, meet some students and other Corp members, and see some of the city. This will make up my mind, one way or the other. All I have to do now is accept that the decision of my heart could lead me into the most difficult experience I've ever faced. But that part of the journey, just like the rest, will not be made alone.

So let's go.

Flying to a new world

Yes, before graduation, I will actually be flying to New Orleans. This is about as close as I'll get to visiting another world before I end up living in it. Never been before. I'll get to see some of the culture, and I'd get to spend a day in the classroom of a Teach for America corp member. This will make it or break it, so here we go.

First time...

Strange, I never thought I'd blog. If I'm about to venture into the real world, though, I figured this might be a good way to keep people wise to my journey. I'd hate to write to all my friends and family, then realize that I'd forgotten someone. I'd be crushed. SO, here you have it: my form of communication with the home base. I love you all dearly. Let me know what you think.