Victoria's Life as a...: May 2013

Monday, May 13, 2013

College Graduate

On May 4, 2013, I graduated from college!!

If you would have asked me 4 months ago if I was ready to be on my own, I probably would have said no. But after spending 4 months in Texas, really getting into the swing of things at school and really feeling like I had a job, now I would say yes. BUT... that's not going to happen yet. Haha! I have to find a job first! I am currently living at home (in the middle of a pile of stacked boxes that contain everything I own) until I find a job and find a place to live where ever that job is located... WHICH is hopefully in Lafayette.

Justin still has 2 years left at Purdue, so I get to be the breadwinner until he gets a job after his graduation. Which is awesome and all... except when you don't have a job yet. It's a teeny bit stressful, not only trying to find a job, but trying to find a job in a specific geographic area. I am willing to commute up to an hour (thank you, Houston for preparing me!!), but it's not ideal... Plus I would need a car. Ha. Oh gosh... the life of an eled college graduate... no one gets jobs til the middle or end of summer, so we have no income until school starts!!

But anyway, I would appreciate prayers for guidance and for getting a job!! And now for some pictures of graduation... Hey, at least I'm finished with school!!!!!!! As a student at least... ;)

Brothers

In-Laws :)

Holly and I

My Texas Ladies

We <3 TX

College roomie for 3 years!!

Wedding days coming up in 2 and 7 months!

And now I have completed all my education (except for maybe grad school later!)

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Last Post as a Student Teacher

Ok well, the truth is student teaching ended almost 2 weeks ago! But I needed to share my sweet memories and pictures of my babies and of my time in Houston. It was so BITTERSWEET to leave. I pretty much just wanted to stay down there and just have Justin join me. I LOVE HOUSTON. And I miss my students like crazy right now. Time for a walk down Memory Lane...

On my last day, I arrived super early to school. I had my hands full of gifts, cards, 3 Starbucks drinks, plus all my normal teaching stuff. As I'm walking down the hall, one of my girls (Zayda) comes up to me holding flowers and asks me if she can help! It was the sweetest thing. First thing I did was conference with our principal. She had observed me a few weeks back and wanted to give me some feedback. This meeting was so encouraging! She is such a sweet lady! We were both tearing up at the end of the meeting. It was confirmed to me then what a special place Bethune is.

After that, I spent the whole morning with the students. We continued learning cursive and took a class picture (which my teacher still has haha). All day we were gearing up for my going-away "party". After doing some VERY impromptu teaching during Math and after specials, my mom came and the party started.

I had a few things for each student:
An award, such as Pencil Queen, Most Enthusiastic Volunteer, Always Smiling, Biggest Hello Kitty Fan
A sweet poem about how I loved being their teacher
A coupon for half off admission to the Houston Space Center (which they were so pumped about)
Their graded space project
Their popsicle stick with their name on it
Class book with their own illustration as the cover

After I was gone, I sent them personalized pencils with their unique names on them, a picture of me at gradation and a personal note.

The dance students performed their dance routine for us during the party as well. As the party wound down, some of the students started getting emotional. One girl (Aubri) cried for the last 15 minutes. Alisha wouldn't let go of me. I could barely let go of Khyla. She was going through personal issues and I feel like she needed those last few minutes of encouragement. After school, I tried to avoid saying goodbye to my AMAZING teachers (I was blessed enough to have two) for as long as I could. Finally that moment came and all three of us were crying like babies. They were the best possible combination of mentors and best friends. I had such a ball with them and the rest of the Bethune staff. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I miss them all so much!!

Here is the video that my teacher (Kristina) made for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR29LLlpqJw&feature=youtu.be

Now for the pictures :)