New Opportunities

So lately I've been feeling weird because I finished my education and have been searching for employment (that is, my career; meanwhile I've been working at my other job). I had an interview at a high school several weeks ago and hadn't heard back. I didn't get discouraged. I just figured that it wasn't meant to be at this time. Well today I finally got a call back! The principal told me that he had already filled the English position (for which I applied and am certified), but he offered me a long-term substitute position in Spanish. The teacher has a ruptured disc in her back and is unable to finish the school year. This is a GREAT opportunity for me. I was planning on subbing this semester anyway until the start of the new school year. Long-term subs make $30 extra a day than regular subs. Furthermore, I'd have guaranteed employment, whereas other subs might get called or they might not. Additionally, I won't have to hop from school to school, and I'll be working with the same group of students from now until May. I'm a little nervous, though. I have a minor in Spanish which is more than the sub they currently have, but I have away from Spanish for three years... The vocabulary is still there, but I'm afraid I've lost a lot of my fluency. My fear is that I'll have a native Spanish-speaker as a student who will run laps around me and I won't be able to keep up. Then the kids won't respect me and I'll be humiliated. But, this isn't my area of certification and the principal knows it. Also, I won't really be a "teacher," so they shouldn't expect me to be an expert. I've been told that the teacher will leave me her lesson plans, so that will be a huge help.

Also....the principal told me that an English teacher is retiring in May and that I'll be the front-runner for that position in August! She also teaches seniors which is GREAT because they're like adults. They're a lot more mature than the freshmen who are making the adjustment to high school and whose bodies are still hormonally unbalanced. It's also British Literature which is the area I'm most passionate about. I'm so thankful for this opportunity. Everything is falling into place and I really feel like it's meant to be. It's also kind of weird because a teacher I observed ended up becoming my cooperating teacher for student teaching (totally unrelated to my observation), and another teacher I observed is the one who is retiring who I am possibly replacing!

In other news, New Year's was fun. My friends and I went to Austin for a convention. The convention itself was really lame, but we made up for it with bar-hopping downtown, random adventures, and relaxing in the hot tub. It was nice just to get away. It seems the people of Austin really like to party. 6th Street reminded me a lot of Bourbon Street, and I want to go back to New Orleans now. Here's a couple pictures from the trip:

I've also been keeping on track with my New Year resolutions! I went to a class at my gym Monday, and I'm going to another tomorrow before work. I also purchased an exercise mat and some small towels. I'm still posting to this blog, so I'm writing. Being more patient is something that I'm still figuring out. It's probably the least measurable of my goals, but probably the most important.

Finally, I feel like my relationship is falling apart. This has been going on for several months now and nothing has improved. It's really hard to hang in there when the other person doesn't make any effort to help the situation. I'm pretty sure it will be ending soon, but another opportunity has surfaced here as well. I've met someone who is very sweet and there is a mutual interest. We're currently planning two events later in the week, so I'll see how it goes. More on that later!