Day 11: About me

Today's post is supposed to be fun. It sure took a lot of thought. I hope you enjoy!

Five random facts about me:

1. I'm a rambler: I often need to talk or write in order to make my thoughts concrete. Unfortunately, that also means that I regularly go over my quota of words during any conversation (I rewrote the introduction 4 times and eliminated about 10 lines of text!)
2. I'm a cat person: I like how cats are self-sufficient and I also like a purr-filled cuddle at the end of my day.
3. I'm a natural pragmatist who strives to be an idealist: Confused? I know I am, but I'm trying to find ways to balance these parts.
4. I love fantasy and science fiction: My go-to genres for books and games. When I can't sleep, I often picture the scenes from these books or make up my own in head to help me relax.
5. I have poor hearing: I don't hear great with my left ear and hear even worse with my right ear. It's something I've struggle with since birth. As of yet, no one seems able to present a solution, so I have to stand and sit on your right side if you want me to hear you fully.

Four Items from...

1. Italian Food Trip: My wife and I have talked for years about this dream. We would map a trip throughout Italy based on food. Our dream would be a long ,relaxing trip filled with culinary delights.
2. Sky-diving/bungee jumping: I can't really explain this rationally, but the urge to do something that feels absolutely dangerous and walk away has always been a dream.
3. Hike the Inca Trail: I love hiking and this route looks amazing!
4. Take voice lessons: I love to sing. Unfortunately, I don't have much training. This would be a great way to work on me.

3 things I'm hoping for this year:

1. To try out new ideas. To fail and get back up. To grow.
2. To find a better balance between work and home. 
3. To engage my students as active participants in their learning.

What's  made me laugh or cry as an educator:

As an educator I am often frustrated, regularly excited and increasingly overwhelmed,
but I am never bored

1. I was once a part of a group assembled to assist a student with severe needs in the classroom and at home. After a long discussion the expert in the room stated frankly that our community did not have the resources necessary to truly help this child and that the only thing we could do was wait until things got so bad that we could send him to a community that did. I've never felt so useless as an educator.
2. I work in Middle School so I laugh all the time at work. I laugh because middle schoolers are a strange combination of mature and immature and this leads to some of the most ridiculous situations and statements you can imagine. I also laugh to extend my patience, a trait that is always in short supply.

1 Thing I wish more people knew about me: 

I am an extrovert. I really like spending time with people. As my daughter would say, "It fills my bucket." However, background noise makes it hard for me connect well with people sometimes. This disconnect frustrates me and makes me further withdraw. I really want to get to know you, but sometimes I find it so hard that I will stay back to avoid disappointing myself.