Category: reflection
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Laid Low
Over my thirty-four years on this earth, God has blessed me with relatively good health and kept me from significant injury. Thus, when minor illnesses or injuries arise, I tend not to handle them well. Each time a setback comes my way, God has used it to teach me and has improved my response. This…
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Language, a Powerful Tool
As a child, I frequently imagined creating my own language, a new and unique way to express thoughts in my heart and head. Little wonder that the works of Tolkien became my favorite the moment I opened the first page. I knew that I would study a foreign language the moment the class first became…
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Know and Do Better – Tragedy Then and Now
Most people know little to nothing about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Prior to 2017, I was one of that number. I learned about this tragedy when preparing to teach the novel, Tulsa Burning to my Gifted and Talented students. Then a little over a month ago, the American History Tellers podcast showed me just how…
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Family Notions
Complex. Unique. Varied. The word “family” brings all sorts of connotations to each individual person. Some include immediate family members such as parents, siblings, and children. Some include everyone even tangentially related, inviting them to family reunions so large they print matching t-shirts in bulk. Others may acknowledge people to be biologically related but will…
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Planning, Planning, Planning
For the past few weeks I have been knee deep in preparations for my Grand European Adventure, the upcoming school year with a new prep (Social Studies, finally), my ambitious plans for a high school Model UN club, and getting my classwork for my two grad classes completed. While it drains me and consumes my…
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Twelve Goals – Lighten the Load
After several weeks with weightier, more in-depth posts, I want to pull back and revisit my yearly goals. Although it is not quite halfway through the year, I consider this my mid-year check-in since the actual halfway mark will find me in the throes of preparing to galavant around Europe for nearly a month. In…
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Saying Goodbye
In two days, I will walk out the doors of my school as an employee for the last time. I knew that this day might come but always hoped that it would not. Even with all of the chaos, inconsistency, and lack of communication, I knew that I had found a place where my heart…
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Thought Provoking History and Beauty
When one mentions Utah, the hearer’s mind usually goes in one of two directions. The hearer either pictures the famous national parks in the south of the state or more likely, they think of Mormons and all associated with the religion. When one goes so far as to say that you have chosen Utah as…
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Up in Flames
Nearly eight years ago, I boarded the Eurostar headed to Paris. A long time Anglophile, I designated a single day for a quick tour of the most prominent Parisian landmarks such as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame. At that time, I had little to no patience for lines.…
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In a Rut of Sorts
Before I dive into today’s post, I want to mention that I hope to write a post full of reflection on the amazing New York trip that I took my students on this past week. To do that, I may have to take next week off from producing a new post. At times, ideas for…