I zig, you zag.

I zig

  You zag

                    And no one else

                          knows our pattern

                                    We figure it out

                               Moment by moment 

               Remembering

        How

and

        Why

               We fell in love

                          Working hard

                                    to keep it alive

                          Uphill, downhill

               no other

       can replace

If you ever

       were to go

               My heart

                          an empty space.

                                                You zig

                          I zag

                Like a puzzle

         piece

not all will

         fit

                each day

                          discovering

                                                two halves

                          a whole!

                We zig,

          We zag,

but still intwined

           by fingers

                 heart,

                          and mind.

                                                The End.

                          

                           

We Are Young

Every school year, my middle school students seem to gravitate to one particular song that they feel defines their generation. Most times, I am somewhat confused as to why they consider certain songs "defining" of their generation, but regardless of their reasoning, I am always pleased to see their enthusiasm boil over when "their song" is played. Yes, most of the time, my students miss the underlying meanings of some of the song's lyrics, but I appreciate that they can create their own understanding from what they hear and know. Currently, the song that gets the most hits on my students' ipods is We Are Young (band: Fun featuring Janelle Monae). Below is the video for the song.

                                                                 

We Are Young

                                                

Tonight

We are young

We can set this world on fire

We can burn brighter

Than the sun

I was reminiscing and thinking back to my good ol' days and trying to remember what songs defined my generation. Since the list was long, I thought of a song that had that "damn the man!" attitude, so I settled on the New Radicals' You Get What You Give. They were probably a one-hit wonder because I can't think of anything else they sang. Oh well.

You Get What You Give

If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight
You've got the music in you
Don't let go
You've got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don't give up
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget you only get what you give

I like to think back to my days in middle school (Junior High) and high school and compare my experiences to those that my students go through each day. There are both similarities and differences, but the one thing that definitely surpasses generation gaps, is the connection young people can make with music. 

eXpanding the ideas

Good thing I have a list of places! Now I can expand on one, two, or three of them. A place that has really been on my mind lately is Vernazza, along the Mediterranean coast of Italy. Maybe it will be a future setting for something I write or a good way to "encourage" my husband to take an international family vacation.

Vernazza, Italy -- where art thou?

Writer's Notebook

A peek into my Writer's Notebook... not exactly a treasure trove of writing ideas, but I'm working on it. I am trying to be more consistent with putting the ideas in my head onto a piece of paper, preferably paper in my writer's notebook.
A kick in the arse Some motivation from other talented writers/teachers is always appreciated! (Thank you, Ruth Ayers!)

Place. Setting. Location. Surroundings. Destination. 

Where are you? 

VlogBrothers

I'm not a big YouTube user; I mainly use it to stay abreast with the latest talk circulating my seventh grade classroom. But, I am a big John Green* fan! (not to mention, I also have a secret crush) So, besides using YouTube to keep me "in the know" with my students, I also use it to view John and Hank Green's (they're brothers) VlogBrothers channel. 

If I had to describe this vlog in three words, it would be: 

Genius + Hilarious + Awesome. 

According to the Green Brothers, the mission of their vlog is raising nerdy to the power of awesome. There are so many topics covered; from current events, YA lit, "How To," debunking misconceptions, the list goes on. Basically, they are here to teach us the stuff we don't know. And boy, it is quite an engaging learning experience!  If you still aren't convinced to click on this link and visit VlogBrothers, then maybe some of their vlog titles will convince you.

"A Surreal Descent into Madness: Reviewing Children's TV"

"Disgusting Cookies: The 2012 Hunger Games"

"5 Worst Typos of History"

"Can I Be Space President"

"Idiotic Governance: How Our Political Discourse Hurts Our Economy"

"Springtime Hunger Games Zit Bully Walk"

"On Cuties and Cooties"

"2011 Presidential Anagrams!"

*John Green is a New York Times Bestselling Author of Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, Will Grayson Will Grayson, and most recently, The Fault in Our Stars. 

Up, Up, and Away!

I am a firm believer that if opportunity knocks on your door, you should perform a background check and if all clears, let opportunity in. A recent opportunity did not exactly come knocking on my door, but instead, I sought it out and after doing its own background check on me, opportunity decide to let me in.


The opportunity that I have been granted with is to teach at another school. It will be bittersweet to leave the school that I am currently at since I have taught there for six years, and I adore the students and my colleagues; however, the school is on a path that I do not necessarily want to be on. Therefore, I decided to do something about it. Fortunately -- and I feel amazingly blessed -- I was hired at an independent school with a strong reputation. Without a doubt, every school has its own challenges, but I am ecstatic to be able to embrace change with my arms wide-open.


June 6, the final day of the school year will be sad; I've already shed a few tears when I watch my seventh graders shine and demonstrate how much they have matured throughout the school year. Not seeing them as eighth graders will definitely feel like I've misplaced something. Yet at the same time, I am looking forward to the completion of the current school year. I am ready for a new adventure; a new journey that will challenge me to be a stronger middle level educator. Becoming the veteran teacher who never made an attempt at something new or who was always resistant to change is someone that I refuse to become. The students deserve teachers who want to be there, excited to try new strategies, provide innovative and engaging lessons while creating a nurturing environment where adolescents want to work hard in order to exceed expectations. I want to strive to be that teacher and by embracing this opportunity, I believe that making this transition now is the right thing for me my family.

Inspired by

Two Writing Teachers inspires the writer within me.


Two Writing Teachers saved my life.
Yes, I realized that is a very heavy statement, but they did.
I was lost in motherhood with nothing to call my own.
And then destiny called logged on,
and I discovered the Slice of Life.
A little bit about your day,
a chunk, a piece, a slice.
A story.
Once-a-week.
Tuesdays to be exact.
Behold, a challenge!
I love like a challenge.
SOLSC = Slice of Life Story Challenge
Hence, The Chockboard.
Every single day in March, I wrote.
and wrote.
and wrote.
31 days straight.
It was exhilarating!
Writer's block is not exhilarating, but sharing your writing
with other writers IS.
Who cares if your grammar isn't up to par
or if your spelling is somewhat spontaneous?

Teachers, beware!
Two Writing Teachers
will refuel you
and your writing teacher habits.
Refreshing ideas, encouragement, and shared experiences
is what Two Writing Teachers is all about.
Teachers building capacity within one another makes
every single classroom flourish
and TWT is where it's at.

Thank you, Ruth & Stacey!