(no subject)
I feel I am in a good place right now.
I'm feeling more and more comfortable with my plan to take a (school) year off after I complete my undergraduate degree this summer. At first, I was resistant - I didn't really want to face not being done schooling until I was 26, but I've come to see that it's not such a bad thing. Lots of people don't start their "real" jobs until their late 20's. It's not like I'll be the only one.
I'm trying to look at the positive things. Having a year off will be beneficial to me in many ways. Ambitiously, there are a lot of things I'd like to do on my year off. These things include getting my driver's license (so I won't be limited when it comes to teaching job locations), volunteering at a school (because it looks great on teacher's college applications), taking French in night school (I love the language, am good at it, and it's so much easier to get a teaching job if you're bilingual) and becoming a Girl Guide leader again (I miss it so much). Of course, all of these things are dependent on my working and living situation.
I'll basically have two options: one will be to work full-time and live here in Kitchener-Waterloo, probably in a different apartment with Laura (and possibly Joy); the second will be to go and live in Brantford with my parents, rent-free but "under their roof", so to say. Both of these options will have their pro's and con's. I think my main consideration will be work & volunteering. It will be incredibly hard to volunteer at a school if I am working a 9-5 job, as that is when school is in session. It will also be incredibly hard to NOT work a 9-5 job if I am living on my own and having to pay my rent. (My parents pay my rent while I'm a student, but I can guarantee they won't pay it for me when I'm out of school for a year.)
I have a lot of thinking to do on the situation. I don't really want to waste some Teacher's College applications this year, but I'm sure my mom will insist I apply. I'm having breakfast with my parents on Friday morning, so I'm going to try and talk them into my plan where I don't apply at all until next year.
Most of this stemmed from the conversation I had with the new guy at my work. His name is Conrad, and he is currently a substitute teacher for the Waterloo school board. He finished Teacher's College last year. He was very encouraging to me and gave me some tips - such as having that volunteering under your belt, and how if you can speak/teach French, you're pretty much guaranteed a job. He claimed that those in his graduating class that could teach French all got jobs, while he and many of his classmates are stuck substituting (and his case, working part-time in retail). I appreciate what he told me and have taken it into deep consideration.
Though I am looking towards the future as this entry suggests, I'm still trying to focus on now, and getting my undergrad over with. I'm still optimistic about getting good marks. I can feel myself slipping into that procrastination groove but I'm trying hard to beat it. I want to be one of those people who try hard and are rewarded with good marks.
---
This entry was incredibly long-winded, and I understand if you didn't read it all. I mostly just wanted to get it out. The more I talk and think about having a year off, the more comfortable I am with it. It was a scary thought at first, but now it's seeming more like the right choice.
I'm currently listening to a playlist created for me by the new iTunes "Genius" feature. Apparently, it's created this list for me based on Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son", and it's kind of interesting. It's an incredibly large mash-up of artists, but the songs seem to be in a similar genre at least. It's got songs on it from the 70's until last year. Hm. I just wanted to play with it.
I'm feeling more and more comfortable with my plan to take a (school) year off after I complete my undergraduate degree this summer. At first, I was resistant - I didn't really want to face not being done schooling until I was 26, but I've come to see that it's not such a bad thing. Lots of people don't start their "real" jobs until their late 20's. It's not like I'll be the only one.
I'm trying to look at the positive things. Having a year off will be beneficial to me in many ways. Ambitiously, there are a lot of things I'd like to do on my year off. These things include getting my driver's license (so I won't be limited when it comes to teaching job locations), volunteering at a school (because it looks great on teacher's college applications), taking French in night school (I love the language, am good at it, and it's so much easier to get a teaching job if you're bilingual) and becoming a Girl Guide leader again (I miss it so much). Of course, all of these things are dependent on my working and living situation.
I'll basically have two options: one will be to work full-time and live here in Kitchener-Waterloo, probably in a different apartment with Laura (and possibly Joy); the second will be to go and live in Brantford with my parents, rent-free but "under their roof", so to say. Both of these options will have their pro's and con's. I think my main consideration will be work & volunteering. It will be incredibly hard to volunteer at a school if I am working a 9-5 job, as that is when school is in session. It will also be incredibly hard to NOT work a 9-5 job if I am living on my own and having to pay my rent. (My parents pay my rent while I'm a student, but I can guarantee they won't pay it for me when I'm out of school for a year.)
I have a lot of thinking to do on the situation. I don't really want to waste some Teacher's College applications this year, but I'm sure my mom will insist I apply. I'm having breakfast with my parents on Friday morning, so I'm going to try and talk them into my plan where I don't apply at all until next year.
Most of this stemmed from the conversation I had with the new guy at my work. His name is Conrad, and he is currently a substitute teacher for the Waterloo school board. He finished Teacher's College last year. He was very encouraging to me and gave me some tips - such as having that volunteering under your belt, and how if you can speak/teach French, you're pretty much guaranteed a job. He claimed that those in his graduating class that could teach French all got jobs, while he and many of his classmates are stuck substituting (and his case, working part-time in retail). I appreciate what he told me and have taken it into deep consideration.
Though I am looking towards the future as this entry suggests, I'm still trying to focus on now, and getting my undergrad over with. I'm still optimistic about getting good marks. I can feel myself slipping into that procrastination groove but I'm trying hard to beat it. I want to be one of those people who try hard and are rewarded with good marks.
---
This entry was incredibly long-winded, and I understand if you didn't read it all. I mostly just wanted to get it out. The more I talk and think about having a year off, the more comfortable I am with it. It was a scary thought at first, but now it's seeming more like the right choice.
I'm currently listening to a playlist created for me by the new iTunes "Genius" feature. Apparently, it's created this list for me based on Kansas' "Carry On My Wayward Son", and it's kind of interesting. It's an incredibly large mash-up of artists, but the songs seem to be in a similar genre at least. It's got songs on it from the 70's until last year. Hm. I just wanted to play with it.