A Letter to my Freshman Self

Hi y'all,

I have seen on overload of new college freshman headed off to their orientations. This, of course, has left me super nostalgic as I think back to mine that was *gasp* 6 years ago. Now, that I'm feeling slightly oldish, here goes nothing:

Dear Lindsey,

It's going to be alright. I know you decided to move 3 hours away from everything you know to an area that you were told never to venture into. However, CNU really is as worth it.

You're going to struggle. But, you'll learn from it. You'll have to ask professors for help (and you'll get much better at it-don't worry). You'll also learn how to kill it in your classes and impress your professors (helpful hint: take all the classes you have to write papers, not take tests). Don't skip the classes, it isn't worth it (good news, all classes take attendance). Be thankful for the strict technology policy. You'll be grateful later when you learned how to take notes by hand instead of on your computer. Also, no cell phone in class equals actual attention on the professor and not on whatever is going on in your life (and that's nice for an hour and 15 minutes).

Parties aren't all what they're cracked up to be, and you'll be thankful for the nights you stayed in, just as you will be for the nights you went out. You don't need a date to have fun, either. Truthfully, you'll have more fun without one.

Your roommate doesn't have to be in your best friend, but she can turn into your best friend. Starting out, roommate situations are often sticky, but don't worry, it'll get better. You'll get the best roommate ever, and somehow you'll keep each other (barely) alive.

On that note, you'll also learn who your true friends are and who is willing to turn their back. That's okay. You'll learn how to stay out of the drama you don't need to be in (and somehow sleep through the biggest drama all year). Keep in mind, your friends will change. Be (very) thankful that housing isn't until February.

You'll learn how to handle going to the doctor by yourself, including a trip to the ER. It's okay, you'll survive, and you somehow will learn to advocate for yourself.

You will learn what is important, and what you can live without. Your priorities will change, and you'll focus in on the more important things (or at least what you consider more important).

It's okay that you stick with your major that you chose coming in. Everyone around you might be changing their minds, but it's okay to stick with it. It's also okay to throw in a second minor on signing day.

Get a job, and treat school like a job. You'll be thankful for the money when you graduate. Volunteer (at more than one place) you'll be thankful for the experiences later. Be thankful for the work ethic that becomes ingrained in you.

Go to the gym. More than once. It's a great stress reliever and time killer. You don't need to watch Netflix all the time.

Don't mind the construction. At the end of your time, you'll be thankful you saw CNU's campus change and grow. You'll really be thankful on graduation day when you can say you were part of the first class to graduate in front of Christopher Newport Hall.

This goes along with spend time in each building. You'll love them all and find a purpose for each of them (even if you remain confused how some your leadership and Communication classes end up being in Forbes).  Also, the walk to the third floor of McMurran is killer. Wear comfortable shoes.

Make friends with your professors. Also, take Connable very seriously when he wants to know your weekend plans/what you did during your weekend. They want you to have a life! Don't be afraid to go see them for no reason.

Be on top of your advising appointments, always. Go prepared and you'll end up getting to know them instead of having to deal with things that you could have looked up on your own.

PLP Speakers aren't that bad. Well, at least not all of them. You'll hear some cool stories, and your views on leadership will definitely change. 

Last, but certainly not least, your four years will go by far too quickly. Enjoy each day as much as you can.

with southern grace,

Lindsey

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Plan Perfectly with The Day Designer

Hi y'all,


I absolutely love this planner. I cannot say enough good things about it.

I was a tried and true Lilly Pulitzer planner user before I found the one. Honestly, I think if I had known about the Day Designer in college, it would have been a game changer for me. In fact, I've used it throughout all of my teacher licensure program and I can say I feel much more organized and on top of things.

I felt like my Lilly Pulitzer planners left a lot to be desired as I became older and outgrew the whimsicalness of the planners (not that I don't love Lilly Pulitzer, just feel like I needed a more adult look for my planner).

I even took it with me last summer to visit my college roommate and brought it with me. She liked it, so I bought it for her as a gift, and she had already bought it for herself. Needless to say, I jumped on getting us both one again this year.

Last year, I had found out about the Day Designer right before the new ones by Blue Sky came out at Target. I hopped on it y'all.

Little did I know, I wasn't planning effectively. But, that all changed.



This was by far a great decision. I did buy an identical one for my roommate as well.

I have actually found the daily planning super helpful because my life changes daily.

This is what a monthly layout looks like in this planner:



And the daily layout:



This year, I bought one from a shop when the regular yearly planner went on sale.
I bought the Blue Tile print for myself and the Palms one for my college roommate.



The monthly layout is a little different in this one, and it did take some getting used to.



And the daily looks like this:



I think I like having lines in my planner on the monthly (like in the Blue Sky one). I also think I like having 30 minute blocks instead of just hourly.

I do like the fact there is the daily scheduler, and I cannot wait to use it as a teacher (again I think the 30 minute blocks would benefit me more as a teacher) versus as a student.

I definitely think I'll be sticking with the Day Designer though.

Have y'all tried the Day Designer? Other planners? What's your favorite?

with southern grace,

Lindsey

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How to Become a Teacher: My Story

Hi y'all,

As many of you know I am finishing up my schooling to become a teacher. While my path to becoming a teacher is unconventional, I thought I would share with you what you can expect on your own path to teacher licensure.

Please note, my licensure is Prek-6th, so my requirements might be different.

First, I finished my B.A. in Communication Studies (when I was first applying to colleges, I was told you cannot major in Elementary Education in the state of Virginia, but you major in something else and then you fulfill requirements for your teaching licensure. However, each school is different). I graduated from CNU in May 2015.

I then took a summer and fall semester off of school completely. Toward the end of October/in November I went in to have a meeting with my future advisor at Mary Baldwin to see what to expect and what I would need to fulfill class wise. I also found out the testing requirements. At this point, I also started volunteering in my 4th grade teacher's classroom (he now teaches 5th grade at the same school). I realized I really did like it, and I kept volunteering through the start of the next semester.

In January 2016, I started taking classes at the community college (I fulfilled several requirements: a literature class, micro econ, child psychology, and cultural geography). It is obviously cheaper to take classes at the community college than through a public or private university. I also worked on taking some of my entry tests (the Praxis Core Math for Educators and VCLA). I then applied to the actual program, Post Baccalaureate Teacher Licensure (PBTL) program at Mary Baldwin University (previously Mary Baldwin College). This is one of the more popular programs in the state and offers classes for adults so classes don't meet every week and the professors are often more flexible than when doing a traditional course of studies.

In March, I started working as a TA in a first grade classroom, which has given me valuable experience, and allowed me to knock out another class.

By April, I was admitted to the program for the summer session, when I took classes like Behavior Management, Assessments of and For Learning (essentially a class on how to write an assessment, and how to interpret assessment results), completed a Prior Learning Portfolio.

In the fall, I continued working as a TA, this year I worked in two Spanish Immersion classrooms on the English side (more about this in a later post). I work in first and second grades. I also continued to take classes. This semester I took: another Introduction to Education, Understanding Exceptional Individuals (both on gifted and SPED students), Language and Acquisition 1 (geared toward K-1), and Engaging Students in Science.

This spring, I took two practicum classes, Language and Acquisition 2 (geared toward 2-6th), and Elementary Methods (this focused on writing lesson plans and a unit plan), and a science class (the state of Virginia requires two science classes and I already had one from CNU).

During this summer, I will take my last two classes, which are math method classes.

Finally, this fall I will complete my student teaching.

However, I have taken more tests since the Praxis for Core Educators: Math and VCLA. I have taken the Praxis in the core subjects and I still have to take the RVE (the Reading for Virginia Educators). I have also completed First Aid/CPR/AED training, Dyslexia Identification Training, and a Civics training.

I'm still waiting to hear where my student teaching placement will be, but I can't wait to find out (I should find out sometime in June or July).

I have a few more education focused posts coming (like how I lesson plan and how to plan a unit). Let me know if you want to see something specific.

I was already pretty unhappy doing what I was doing back when I first went for my meeting in the late fall of 2015, and I knew I wanted a life change. I will say that volunteering in the classroom helped me figure it out. Likewise, I also knew that school is my comfort zone. I absolutely love learning, and love teaching. I do sometimes find it stressful (as does everyone). But, at the end of the day, I love what I do. Even though when I volunteered, I only graded some papers and answered questions (in case anyone is wondering, ask me anything about VA history for 5th grade, and I know the answer). I love learning, and even though I never wanted to be a teacher growing up, my mom knew from the time I was 3 years old (if not before), that I was born to be a teacher.

Am I sad that I took a different path to being a teacher? Absolutely not. I'm glad that I've had the experiences that I've had. I have already had difficult students and the cutest students (and yes, I have stories for literally years, I might even write a book one day). I also know how to handle having a TA, and what are fair expectations of a future TA I might have. I also know that without a servants heart, being a teacher is not going to fulfill me. I also know that I will treasure my years of being a teacher more. Plus, I'm grateful for my communication training as I definitely understand how to communicate with the tiny humans more. And y'all, some of them are really tiny.

To wrap it up, because I feel like this post is already too long, can I wait to be a teacher in my own classroom? No. Do I have to? Yes. Am I happy I went back to school? Absolutely.

Are you a teacher? Did you take the conventional path or did you go back to school?

with southern grace,

Lindsey

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