30 Things: Day 9

Day 9: List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

Wow. 10 people? I'll try my best here, the following are in no particular order.

1. Mrs. Byrnes, my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Byrnes was by far the best teacher I've ever had. She instilled in me such a love for everything academic. I still fondly remember projects from her class, from building castles to reading the Hobbit (yes, we were smart and we read the Hobbit when we were 8 years old), to creating out very own Opera. I can still recite the poems she had us memorize every week, including but not limited to Jack Prelutsky, William Shakespeare, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She is everything I aspire to be as an educator. Plus she never yelled. And she had Big Deal Meal.

2. Mom, my always teacher. Does this one really need any explanation? My mom is everything I aspire to be as a mother and a daughter. She is the most non-judgemental, giving, understanding, patient, incredible person. She loves me unconditionally, even though I'm a brat who doesn't put her dishes in the dishwasher and leaves her laundry in the dryer. I'm so lucky to have her as a mom < 3

3. My cousin. This month marked the 3rd anniversary of my cousin's death and I miss her more every day. We weren't that close- there was an age and personality gap that sort of kept us apart. But she lived her life in such a way that she was more fulfilled in her brief 18 years on earth than some people could be even if they lived to be 180. She was a vivacious and incredible force and that lives on in our family and always will.

4. My baby sisters (who really aren't babies anymore, by any means). Though we may fight light cats and dogs one second and love each other the next, there is no doubt that these two knuckleheads have influenced my life. I'd do anything for them (even stay up all night to help them proof and edit their papers for school). I remember being in 4th grade, sitting in the library with my teacher and the rest of my class. My teacher asked us what the greatest gift our parents had ever given us was, and I said my sisters. And then started crying and had to leave the room until I calmed down, because it is so true and I have no idea what I would do without them. Oh bother, now I'm crying again.

5. My Grandma and my Uncle who have taught me the value of human nature, and how to never give up and to constantly give back to others. They have both been through a lot in their lifetimes, and I am lucky to be their granddaughter and niece.

6. All my students, ever. All 77 of them. As much as they drive me UP A WALL and never do their homework or stop talking, they've shown me the entire range of humanity even though they are less than a decade old. These tiny humans give me a reason to make this world a better place.

7. Not at all a positive influence, but a group of people who showed me everything I never want to be, hereby known as the Morons. Unfortunately these Morons are related to me, and their negativity, greed, pompous attitudes, condescending nature and embodiment of everything in this world that is evil is what proved to me that I have to always be a better person. At least in a few months I'll be rid of them forever and will never have to communicate with them. And of course, Karma will come and bite them in the ass. And if she doesn't then just wait until the next lifetime when I'm sure they will come back as the most despised creatures on this earth.

8. Amy Sherman Palladino and Dan Palladino Their creation, in the forms of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore have helped me forge undeniable friendships. That, and I wish I was Rory. In all seriousness, some of my fondest memories are hanging out with my friends and my roommate, lounging around, eating salad and watching Gilmore Girls.

9. I don't think I realized the influence of this person until fairly recently.  Today is A few days ago marked the anniversary of my dance teacher, Rachel's death.  Not only was Rachel the most incredible photographer, but also this unwavering spirit with unmatched passion.  She taught me how to follow through with a creative vision, even if it meant choreographing the week before our recital, or changing choreography three hours before nationals.  Rachel also tried to teach me to dance for myself, and no one else.  She understood the cattiness and incredible meanness of some of the other girls I danced with.  When they made fun of me, she told me that it didn't matter.  Of course, to my eleven year old self it did matter, a lot, but now when I look back- Rachel was what mattered.  Her love for dance that she so desperately tried to instill in all of her students was what mattered.

10. And last but not least, my friends, all of whom influence me on a regular basis.  Whether it is giving me book recommendations, eating dumplings with me, stopping in dunkin on the way to work/school, commiserating over drinks, adventuring around Disney, going to Mets and Jets games, pinching David Wright's butt, crocheting together, laughing together... the list could go on and on.  My friends mean a lot to me, even if they are all absolutely out of their minds. :)

30 Things: Day 8

I started this 30 day challenge on July 16th, 2012.  I must get my proverbial writing butt in gear and finish this, seeing as it is already April 21, 2013.

Day 8: What are 5 passions you have?

Hmm. Well let's see. If you define passion as an uncontrollable emotion, then number one on this list would definitely be...

Eating.

Ha. Maybe not number one, but definitely up there.  I mean, come on, who would honestly say that they don't like to eat?

I'm reverting back to my gold personality and making a lot of lists lately (can you tell I'm on the edge?? My fellow student leaders from Iona will understand).  So 5 passions, in no particular order:

Number 1- Laughing.  Especially with my friends... the good kind of laughing where you can't stop, even to catch your breath, especially when tears of joy are running down your face.  See The Endangered Dan Sheridan.

Number 2- Traveling. I'm constantly amazed by the amount of knowledge there is in the world and how there is so much to explore... My Grandma took me on a trip to Italy for my college graduation and since then I've been bitten by the travel bug. I want to go EVERYWHERE.  And I want to eat and laugh and learn and explore and take pictures while I'm there (wherever there is).

Number 3- Photography.  See above... My mom has always kept our pictures in albums, stacked side by side in our living room.  Every year of our lives forever immortalized in those binders.  The idea that a photograph can preserve a life like that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Plus I love my camera.

Number 4- Teaching.  My real passion is teaching early childhood ESL, but I suppose teaching of any kind is fine by me.  There's just something about kids understanding that the world is so much bigger than they are and that you couldn't possibly learn everything there is to learn even if you had a hundred lifetimes (I suppose this is when it comes in handy to be Edward Cullen or some variation thereof).  It also helps that I have had countless teachers who were truly passionate about what they did, even if they taught Latin and drove me crazy for two years in high school.  That kind of passion isn't something you forget and I hope that my students remember me in that way.

Number 4.5- Exercising

Number 5- I wasn't really sure what I was going to put down here.  I bounced a few ideas around but ultimately I think that the last passion on this list is going to be creating.  Growing vegetables, creating wonder for my students, crocheting, writing, cooking... So I guess taking something and molding it into something new.

Sweet.

30 Things: Day 7

Edited from the summer, posting now!

Day 7: What is your dream job, and why?

I honestly don't know what my dream job is because I haven't had nearly enough experience doing any of the things I love to do. 

I want to be a teacher. An effective teacher, a respected teacher.  Not what I am now, which is stressed out and unhappy.

I want to be a photographer. I love capturing moments in people's lives that they can look back on and smile wistfully.  I've grown up in a family where pictures are so important.  Grandma called our school portraits "mouse traps" when we were younger, which of course would make us giggle hysterically.  Her house is covered in pictures and I love it.

I want to plan weddings.  I want to cook for people. I want to be a mother. I want to work with baby animals in a zoo.

All I've ever wanted in my life is to help people.  Not save people, because as the fabulous Abigail Disney said, "helping is humble. Saving is arrogant." I could read her commencement address to my graduating class every single day and never grow tired of it.

I've been given so much in my life that I feel this undeniable need to give back.  Maybe it is just the neophyte teacher in me, but I still think I can change someone's world.  Though knowing me, if I did manage to change someone's world for the better I still wouldn't be satisfied because I'm just that kind of person.  I know I can't change the entire world, but I'd like to think that I can change the part of it that I live in.

Er, so maybe my dream job is to just be a teacher.  Preferably in kindergarten, but I'll take what I can get.

30 Things: Day 6

I started the 30 Days challenge last summer and never finished.  So I suppose I'll pick up where I left off, since I'm not a quitter.

Day 6: What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?

The first thing that immediately comes to mind is getting sick with Wegener's.  But the more that I think about it, it wasn't the actual disease that was the hardest thing.  It's been dealing with the fall out.  There have been plenty of terrible experiences in my life.  WG, losing my cousin, the D.D. (Dad Debacle), struggling to love my job...

Wait.  Now I'm all confused.  Maybe it isn't just one singular experience that I can definitively say was the absolute hardest thing I've ever dealt with.  The culmination of all these things is definitely the hardest thing.  The hell with you, brain.

I've always had a "life plan".  I knew what I wanted, I knew when I wanted it to happen, and I knew what I wanted to be (happy).  There was an all encompassing definition of happy and plenty of criteria that had to be met in order for me to achieve that "happiness".  There isn't much I can say with any certainty anymore, but what I can say is that I love Mumford and Sons.

Just kidding.  I do love them (just a smidge late to that bandwagon.)  In all seriousness, I'm not really sure that I am happy.  I know that I can't keep this rigid list of criteria, but they are always in the back of my mind.  Yes, I'm teaching, but not the population I wanted nor the grade I wanted.  Yes, I'm approaching being healthy, but it took a lot of stress and hours hooked up to IVs to get there.  Yes, I have some of the greatest friends I could ever ask for, but there's still something missing.

Ok.  So what I guess I'm trying to say is that the hardest thing I've ever experienced is my quest for happiness despite facing sometimes insurmountable adversity while attempting to remain graceful and humble and appreciating what I have even though I want so much more than I've got. Yay, looks like it is time for the next existential crisis... except this one gets to be dubbed the quarter life crisis!