The Young Witch Starts a New Semester

The Void likes me! It really likes me! Or at least my parents and my former TV advisor really do (THANKS DR. PRICE!!).

I'll be the first to admit I was slightly surprised to see the views that I got on my introduction post, but it was a good surprise! Like when you find out there'll be a new season of your favorite show everyone seems to hate or find $20 in the hallway at school, so you take it to the office and no one claims it, so the office gives it to you (that happened to me once. For realsies).

But anywhooooo...

Me at the beginning of the year before I began to truly miss the sleep I got in college (bright side of working for my school: I get my school pictures free!)

It's a new year, a new month, a new week, and most of all a new semester for my kids that I work with at school. For those wondering what my job (technically volunteer work) is, I'm a City Year member which essentially means, I'm a TA, Therapist, Tutor, Mentor, Friend, and Peer, not necessarily in the order. What does a new semester mean to my kiddos?

Boundless amounts of energy, coupled with exhaustion from not being able to wake up past noon everyday. What does this mean for me? Complete and utter exhaustion from traveling between time zones, having to be up at 5 a.m. each morning and my students boundless amounts of engery combined with the complaining of "I'm so tired." I can't imagine what that feels like, young one. I can't imagine.

Nonetheless, it was a pretty good first week back. The kids didn't kill me, I finished two books (Not on the same day, Mom! Please still get me books!), and most importantly, I made my first ever vision board! How did this come to pass, you definitely did not ask, nor probably want to know? Well I'll tell you anyway, because this is my blog.

With last week being the beginning of the semester, my partner teachers (City Year for the teachers whose classes I work in) wanted to slowly work the students into the New Year by focusing in resolutions and making goals. My Ethnic Studies teacher, Ms. Duran, decided that the best way to do that was to make Vision Boards (aka the coolest thing ever!!!!!)!

What is a Vision Board? It's a way to put up goals and ideas for the next month/week/year/whatever timeframe you want. You can draw it, cut up magazines, papers, anything you want to make this board. When you feel like you're done (at least for now), you hang up in a place where you can look on it and feel inspired to do the things you plan.

Now this to me, is a cool deal! I love making goals and resolutions. My problem is that I write them in a notebook, forget where I put the notebook, try to remember what I put in the notebook, and then just never do any of the things, because there's nothing there for me to see or look at or feel the looming pressure of disappoint over not being done (that's the anxiety speaking). This to me, was something new, something cool, something I had never really thought of (nor had the massive amount of magazines) to do.

So when Ms. Duran invited me to participated, I was all in! Not only was it a good way to help encourage the students to actually do their work, but it was a fun way for me to try a new way to look at and reach my goals for the year (one of which is keeping up with this blog). I had so much fun looking through the magazines my teacher brought and cutting things out and putting them together, that over three days (which made for five class periods) I had accidentally created a small monster.

The (dimly lit) Small Monster starring the chocolate orange I've been saving since Christmas.

This small monster included things I'd never really thought about: how I finally wanted to clean up the things in my life (yes, Mom, I know Aunt Suzie will help me), the book I've been wanting to write since I was 14, the idea of new pets, traveling to places I haven't been in years or ever, cooking and making new foods and dishes, finally entering into a relationship after 4 years of being single (out of choice and severe anxiety), and so much more. All these goals and visions ended up taking 3 of the posters that were provided for students to do their own and I loved every minute of making it.

I made my first tiramisu cake for a friend's birthday after making the poster, and the reviews were fantastic!

This things ended up becoming not just a year long board, but a decade board for my 20's. I have already successfully started on the cooking aspect of it by changing up my lunching diet and even on the writing aspect by doing this blog, but I have heck ton more to go and so far, I plan to enjoy every minute of it.