In Which I Am Alive

Sometimes the warmth of summer vanishes so that there can be golden and vermillion and orange leaves, a maple-y autumn smell in the air and eventually, giant, drifting flakes of snow. Sometimes the days start to get shorter so that eventually it will be dark enough to see the Christmas lights. Sometimes the delicious crepe shop that used to be by my apartment moves far away so that the best burrito joint in Provo can take its place. Sometimes good things leave so better things can come. Here's hoping.

To any of my readers who are teachers, or parents, or voters, or planning to be one of those sometime in the future, watch this video. In my Educational Foundations class the other day, we were talking about technology in education. A few people made comments to the effect that they were terrified that new media and internet learning would dehumanize the classroom, essentially turning students into robots. According to this video, though, technology can have the exact opposite approach. In a "flipped" classroom, when students can learn at their own pace and in their own way, as facilitated by technology, teachers actually get more  time to spend one-on-one with students, and students get customized instruction to fit their needs. This makes me so excited to be a teacher. The present is an exciting time to live in, and it just gets more thrilling every second.

Confession: Some nights I stay up until 3:15 reading blogs and Wikipedia, and I don't let myself go to bed because there is homework to be done, and I can't not do my homework because then I won't get a good grade and I'll be a failure, and if there's one thing that defines my life it's that I don't fail at stuff, especially not school. But I'm too tired to focus on my homework, because it's 3 am and I haven't really gotten much sleep this week anyways and today was kind of draining. So I keep taking break after break after break, in an effort to clear my mind so that I can do homework after the next break. Yup.

Today when my yoga class was finished, I went to grab my backpack. I had set it along the wall next to my Chacos, and figured that a Study Abroad backpack covered in buttons with various inspirational sayings would be fairly easy to find. I was wrong. It took me a good 30 seconds to find my stuff because, I kid you not, every  backpack in that room was a Study Abroad backpack covered in inspirational buttons and every  one of those backpacks had a pair of Chacos next to them. Okay...I might be exaggerating the littlest bit. But...still. For a minute there, I felt this strange surge of pride. I'm finally one of those  people. One of those people who studies abroad and rock climbs and listens to weird indie music and hikes and takes yoga classes. One of those people I used to dream about becoming back when I was a wide-eyed freshman. And then I felt a little bit self-conscious. If my yoga class is any indication, pseudo-granolas are a dime a dozen here at BYU. Why on ...

"But the humanist, revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them." -Paulo Freire. Yes. Yes, yes, a thousand, a million times yes. I wish I could somehow drive home to each of you how much this resonates with me, how.. crucial  it is to the way I view education. This  is why I want to be a teacher. Because I want to be this kind of teacher. Because I think that's the way I can make a difference. Because it's important.

"Be who you are, nothing more, nothing less And let the beauty that you love be the very best. Sing praises to the Highest with your feet on the ground And reach your brother with the words that you sound. And don't let mistakes be so monumental And don't let your love be so confidential And don't let your mind be so darn judgmental And please let your heart be more influential." -Michael Franti

You know, sometimes I think to myself, "Self, you know what this world needs more of? Shakespearean fanfiction!" Actually, I don't think that's a thought I've ever had in my life. But if it was, this little beauty would probably be the product of it. I present to you: Hamlet the Awesome and Kinda Scary Robot by the venerable Riss Hamlet was walking along being angsty. And then all of a sudden he was a robot. A robot whose father was dead. Also, he could shoot lasers out of his eyes. He had a hot girlfriend named Ophelia. Ophelia was an alien. With 5 arms. They had sexy times. And then she killed herself And then everyone else died. THE END. Yeah...I wrote that. In a fit of madness a few days ago. And I couldn't be prouder.