Rationale and Farting

I. Rationale

Now look.

Let's be clear. The real reason I'm blogging is to hear my own voice more, albeit in my head.

That being said, there's another reason. As a sparkling new graduate, I spent a lot of time this summer on teacher blogs and, of course, Pinterest, trying to figure out how this teaching thing was going to work. I wanted (and still want) so badly for it to go well. I wanted organizational ideas, classroom management ideas, and creative lessons. Who wouldn't want all of that, really? I found all of those things in spades online.

I have to make a confession, though. Pinterest sometimes makes me a little nauseous. It's not that I don't like to look at it. It's just that the projects are so cute. The quotes are so inspirational. The meals look so delicious. Are these people for real?

I moved 700 miles to my first-ever teaching job this summer. Moving was an adjustment. Being new is still an adjustment. Despite that, though, I am so confident that teaching special education is exactly what I am meant to be doing with my life.

9 weeks into my dream job, though, I can look at those blogs and pins and know with absolute certainty that I will never be those people. No magical switch got flipped when I reached Tax-Paying-Insurance-Holding-Rent-Making-Adulthood-Status. I still can't produce attractive crafts. I still eat mostly tacos. I am still disorganized. I have not led my class through a single cute project. (We made number lines in math, and they were truly ugly. Our handwriting needs WORK.)

I have to imagine that there are a lot more people who don't have it all together than people who do.* This blog is for you, person-who-has-only-some-of-it-together.

And really? Despite the project-less-ness, the kids are learning. What we are doing may not be cute, but it's meaningful.** Despite my tacos, I don't have scurvy. Things are okay.

(*If you do, in fact, have it all together, this will just make you feel more successful)
(** More on this in a guest post my wonderful co-teacher didn't know she was really going to do)

II. Farting

On the subject of farting, I will let this text to my sister speak for itself.

Is it bad that I accepted that explanation as fairly legitimate? Is it weird that I just saved that picture to my desktop as "Fart Message"? I have all of the questions and none of the answers.