Since arriving back to school, there are two questions I have frequently been asked. One of them is, “what did you do this summer?” The other one is, “how have the first few days of the semester been?” Therefore, I decided to answer them here in short little anecdotes that you will hopefully find amusing.
Barbie is Here!
After spring semester ended, I began a new job working at a local summer school program. Based on the fact that it was summer school, I figured that the students would not be particularly happy to be there and would probably be a little bitter towards me. However, to my surprise, I was placed with a sweet group of eleven-year-olds.
Every morning a couple of my students would wait for me to arrive right by my parking spot as I pulled into school. One day I got out of my car to hear one of my students yell “Barbie is here!” to everyone in the parking lot. At first, I thought he said “the party is here!” to which I was shocked that I could be considered a walking party at 7 am. However, once I realized what he had actually said, I thought it was cute. My students were always amazed by my matching accessories, so I guess to them I was like a dress-up doll.
During another day of summer school, I received a gift. Although I try to hide when I am having a sad day because I don’t want negative energy brushing off onto the students, I guess there was a day when I was not so good at hiding it. After recess, two of my students came up to me with flowers they had picked outside and gave them to me because they noticed I seemed sad. At that moment, I realized that while I look out for my students, they look out for me too. That was enough to make my heart melt onto that middle school floor.
Sanford Peaches
During one of the many rainy Maine Sundays of this summer, my dad decided it would be a good idea for us to get out of the cottage and go for a drive. He heard there was a farm stand selling peaches nearby in Acton, Maine, so we hopped into the car and went to the farm. Being that I typically do not drive past Kennebunk, I loved seeing the little towns we drove by on our way to the farm. All of the brand logos on the signs were at least 30 years old and the people wore a lot of plaid. I saw more cows and trees during that forty-minute drive than I’ve probably seen in the last three years combined. It was a very different vibe from Lowell, Massachusetts to say the least.
However, as we pulled up to the farm, tragedy struck and I realized that we would not be getting peaches that day. We stopped to read a sign that said the peaches still needed ripening so the farm would be closed for another week. My dad’s beloved Ford F150 had been on the fritz that week, so he was already fragile. I knew that the only way to make up for the fact that we had driven out to a town with more cows than people to only return with no peaches was to tell him that I had spotted one of his favorite things on our ride: a salvage store. On our way back to Wells, we stopped in the little mill city of Sanford at a store called Marden’s. It was like a more honky-tonk version of Ocean State Job Lot. Although my dad may be a finance guy in a suit, there is nothing that makes him happier than a store closeout on tools, lightbulbs, and hardware.
When we returned to the cottage, he was so excited to show off all the things he had found at Marden’s to my mom that he spent a whole $1.23 on. While we may not have returned with peaches, at least we returned with some bolts and a new place for my dad to go on rainy days.
Cousinly Love
One random Tuesday morning, I decided it would be a good idea to text my cousin Cate who I hadn’t hung out with in years, and ask her if she wanted to get dinner after work. Cate is about two years older than me and lives about 3 minutes away, so even though I am an only child, she filled the sibling role. When we were little, she taught me what it felt like to be chased around the backyard and would dare me to take off my swimmies in the pool when my mom wasn’t looking. Cate was also known to make me climb up and sit on top of the monkey bars. She would then leave me up there until dinner when my aunt started to ask where I had been for the last few hours. Cate claims that karma has come back to her for all of the times that she chased me until I cried and left me up on the monkey bars with no way of getting down.
I ended up having a great time with Cate, and it made me wish that I had texted her a lot sooner. Although Cate and I are about as opposite as I think two people can be, our friendship works and I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with her over the summer. I’ve also been surprised to see just how much Cate cares about what I am up to. Although she comes across as tough, she has a soft spot, which I should have expected since she is a water sign. My mom and my aunt refer to the two of us as Felix and Oscar and I guess they’re right.
The Fixer-Upper
Once summer came to a close and I moved into my room in the glorious New Hall, I soon realized that I could be a handywoman. At first, I did not lower my bed because I thought that the height would be okay, but after leaping into my bed on the first night, I decided I could not do that forever because I am certainly not that limber. This led me to visit the Home Depot to purchase a hammer. When I first asked where the hammers were, I couldn’t quite figure out why the workers thought I was such a character, but then I remembered that I was in a dress and heels.
I am proud to say that once I started my handy project, I was able to lower my bed by myself. Although some points were a bit dicey and I should have changed my outfit before I started the project, it all worked out. I’m not saying I should be trusted to use heavy machinery or complete an actual home repair, but I can certainly use a hammer to lower my bed. I also got in some good stretches because when one person is lowering a bed, it takes some acrobatics to keep all parts of the bed raised.
Miss Sousa is in the building!
I will soon be taking on the task of a lifetime…I will be student teaching at a local high school with juniors. Rest assured that I have been diligently organizing my dresses, flair pens, and sticker books to be ready for the big show. While I am beyond excited to begin teaching, I’ve sometimes found myself worrying about pretty much everything that could go wrong. I’ve thought about the scenario of being observed one day and then completely forgetting to write in a certain part of a lesson. I’ve also had the fear that I will wipe out on the floor because I tend to get invested in whatever I am doing with a class and I could picture a heel getting caught in a cord without realizing it.
Just a few weeks ago I saw my ten-year-old cousin Olivia and I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. I always love hearing what she has to say because her answer is different every time. Talking to her made me remember the fact that my childhood self would be excited for what I am about to do in my life. I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was six years old, so I guess you could say that I am living out my childhood dreams.
I think that little Erin would be proud to see that I stuck with teaching, even when I was told that I would be poor and I would grow to despise children because they are apparently awful. Although there will be hard days during student teaching, I will choose to remind myself during those times that my childhood self is cheering me on.
If this were the Bachelor, the host would say to let the journey begin.
In this case, let the school year begin.