the wind from my sails...
...it is a cold afternoon in mid-Fall. The sun is close to setting, and I have to go to a night class in a couple of hours. Though the weather is not my favourite, it still feels good. It feels nice. It is wonderful to be alive.
So, why am I talking about wind and sails? I sort of was politely told something I knew to expect: I need further language training. Well, that wasn't exactly what I was told. More specifically, I was told (as is often the case; I know I tell this to people, too): but to go out and read. Well, that wouldn't be as frustrating if I hadn't referred to the text. But alas! It is true, in this day and age literacy is crucial.
Which, again, literacy and language are my focus. I am 25 now, and am currently training to be a high school Spanish teacher with bilingual certification. But I don't want my life legacy to be some 30-40 years as a high school teacher. That is not to denigrate or underscore the importance of that work; rather, I want to be able to do research, to dig deeper, to engage in intellectual conversations that are not always possible or available.
The only way to do all that, of course, is to further my language abilities. I have the English and Spanish. I sort of laid a foundation for Russian, but it is shaky and will take years to get up to where I want and need it to be. In addition, of course, it would be a good idea to tackle French or German. I have German resources which I need to actually sit down and use.
Yesterday was an interesting day. I did not have any evening commitments and thus was given a great opportunity to catch up or get ahead. The road I took was to sort and organize a bunch of papers and documents. I am finding that physical organization can help aid mental organization. The other task I began (but didn't quite do enough) was begin looking at the unit I am going to teach. As a sort of getting my feet wet exercise, I am going to design and teach the final unit of the semester. It will begin sometime next week (or the week after?) and go through the first couple weeks of December. It should give me a good taste of how January to May will go.
My list of accomplishments are much smaller, I think, than they can or should be. Though I do admit to overcoming a bit of diversity, I don't think it is enough. I'm really not sure what my end goal is, or what journeys I would like to take.
But I'm not going to stew in my own juices. I have about 90 minutes before I leave. It is time to go be productive, rather than loafing around online and feeling sorry for myself.
I'm not sorry. But I am willing to apologise. My life is beginning. So why all the doom and gloom?
So, why am I talking about wind and sails? I sort of was politely told something I knew to expect: I need further language training. Well, that wasn't exactly what I was told. More specifically, I was told (as is often the case; I know I tell this to people, too): but to go out and read. Well, that wouldn't be as frustrating if I hadn't referred to the text. But alas! It is true, in this day and age literacy is crucial.
Which, again, literacy and language are my focus. I am 25 now, and am currently training to be a high school Spanish teacher with bilingual certification. But I don't want my life legacy to be some 30-40 years as a high school teacher. That is not to denigrate or underscore the importance of that work; rather, I want to be able to do research, to dig deeper, to engage in intellectual conversations that are not always possible or available.
The only way to do all that, of course, is to further my language abilities. I have the English and Spanish. I sort of laid a foundation for Russian, but it is shaky and will take years to get up to where I want and need it to be. In addition, of course, it would be a good idea to tackle French or German. I have German resources which I need to actually sit down and use.
Yesterday was an interesting day. I did not have any evening commitments and thus was given a great opportunity to catch up or get ahead. The road I took was to sort and organize a bunch of papers and documents. I am finding that physical organization can help aid mental organization. The other task I began (but didn't quite do enough) was begin looking at the unit I am going to teach. As a sort of getting my feet wet exercise, I am going to design and teach the final unit of the semester. It will begin sometime next week (or the week after?) and go through the first couple weeks of December. It should give me a good taste of how January to May will go.
My list of accomplishments are much smaller, I think, than they can or should be. Though I do admit to overcoming a bit of diversity, I don't think it is enough. I'm really not sure what my end goal is, or what journeys I would like to take.
But I'm not going to stew in my own juices. I have about 90 minutes before I leave. It is time to go be productive, rather than loafing around online and feeling sorry for myself.
I'm not sorry. But I am willing to apologise. My life is beginning. So why all the doom and gloom?