Because I Am Furniture
I was intrigued by this book's title, which is the original reason I picked it up.
It's not the only reason I wound up loving it.
Written in the form of many poems, it was brilliantly captivating. I literally picked it up and didn't put it down until I had finished.
I have to add that I didn't realize it was written in poems until I got it home from the library. When I opened it, I was skeptical. I usually don't enjoy books written in poem form…they scare me. I always feel like I'm missing something, or like there's some deeper meaning that I'm just not getting. I actually almost put it down.
What a mistake that would have been.
What Teaching Means to Me
I've been planning on writing this blog post for a long time. But when I recently changed jobs, it gave me a clearer view of why I truly love teaching.
I'm a dance teacher. I've been dancing since the age of three (18 years) and dance means more to me than anything else, besides my family of course.
When I graduated high school, it was time for me to get a job that I could enjoy and count on, as well as provide for me throughout college. But I didn't know what I could possibly do. At the time, I worked for a chiropractor as an office assistant. When I was little, I wanted nothing more than to work in an office. I loved notebooks and files, I loved keeping everything organized and "answering the phones". But I realized that the fun I had pretending "office" as a child didn't translate into real life. So when I sat down with my mother to try and think of where I should apply for a new job, I had a real hard time.
I automatically ruled out McDonald's, the local retail outlets…well anything in retail really. I was starting to wonder if I was spoiling myself. Shouldn't I be working at McDonald's or a clothing store? Isn't that a rite of college-life? Working a terrible job that you hate?
Then my mom asked me, "What would your dream job be? If money was no object, if it wasn't about just "getting a job", what job would you want?"
I answered, "I want to be a dance teacher."
I immediately followed that up with, "But no one will hire me at 18 with only minimal teaching experience."
I was wrong.
After putting together my resume and emailing every dance studio within a reasonable distance, I got two responses. One for a studio one town over and another from a studio where I was currently taking a weekly ballet class. They both hired me.
That year I worked at two dance studios, teaching class, choreographing recital dances, picking out their costumes…basically everything I've always wanted to do.
Growing up, me and my two best friends were all dancers. We would talk about opening a studio together when we got older, how much fun it would be to be able to make all the rules! As we grew older, we wizened up, but I think I always held on to that dream.
Teaching, for me, has become one of the biggest joys in my life. I look at my students and see myself- I want to be that teacher, the one that instills their love of dance into their students…the one that makes them eager to come to dance, to learn new things, improve and have fun. I had those teachers and even the ones I didn't like as much, I took away what I could.
I've taught all ages- from 3 years old up to adults. There's nothing like a child coming up to you a week after you've taught them a new step- they struggled with it last week, but they "worked on it all week…my teachers were yelling at me for dancing under my desk!" and when they show you how they've perfected it, you can't help but smile and congratulate them. I remember when I used to be that kid; I would be doing pirouettes in gym during volleyball (that's why no one wanted me on their team…and I can't tell you how many times I got hit in the head with the ball). I love knowing that it's not all me. Sure, I teach them the technical lingo and demonstrate the steps, but it's when they love it so much that they just can't stop- that's when I know I've truly done my job.
Recently I had to make a very tough decision. I decided to look for a new teaching job. I am now working at a different studio and I am very happy about my decision. But it was very tough telling my students that I was leaving…in almost four years I had become very attached to them. Some of them cried, which made me want to cry too, they asked where I was going (which, out of respect for my former boss I didn't tell them) and they gave me bone-crushing hugs.
It was very hard to say goodbye. My only hope for any student of mine is that they love dance as much as I do…regardless of their technique, it's the passion for dance that is the most important.
Teaching dance has taught me many things as well. But it's also opened my eyes to another discipline I would like to teach: yoga.
I'm sure you remember me talking about my yoga trainings…currently I'm certified to teach beginner yoga, and at the new studio I'll be doing just that!
Sometimes its hard for me to believe that I actually have my dream job. Some people go through their whole lives with a job they hate just to put food on the table. I respect those people…they do whatever they have to do to support their families. It makes me even more grateful to have the job that I do, to be able to go to work and enjoy every second of it so much that I forget that I'm even working. It's truly a blessing that I never saw coming at eighteen and is still amazing me at twenty-one.
This time, Etsy fulfills an Actual Need...
I of course said, "I WANT IT."
$100 later, (the vanity was originally over $1000!!) I had the beautiful vanity I had always wanted. It was kept in great condition and all the drawers were in working order.
But…one of the drawer pulls was missing.
Not a big deal, the drawer pulls were pretty basic, so they could've used an upgrade anyway.
Enter, Etsy.
I found these adorable little elephant drawer pulls, messaged the shop owner to see if she had six instead of the four the original listing was for and bought them after she revised the listing for me.
They are currently en route from Canada and I can't wait to get them and see them on my vanity!
Pictures to come :)
Bone Worship
I saw this book in Barnes and Noble one day as I was shopping. I read the back and it sounded really interesting.The main character, Jasmine, is the child of an Iranian father and an American mother. After flunking out of her last semester at college as a double major, she returns home to make good on her promise to her parents to let them arrange a wedding for her.
I'm not going to summarize the book here, (in short, I really enjoyed the book) I just wanted to write a little bit about why I thought this was such a good book and what I think makes a good book.
Writing style is something everyone has a different preference for. Some people like simpler writers, others like a more complex writing style.
I happen to like somewhat of a middle ground. For example, I recently took the newest Meg Cabot novel out of the library's teen section (yes, I often read from the teen section- usually if you pick through the angst-ridden high school stories, you can find some good stuff). I started reading it, (it was supposed to be a modern take on Persephone) I thought that the Greek mythological background would make it interesting (I happen to LOVE mythology). But I found myself bored, not because of the story, but because of the writing style.
It's been a while...
Ahh, blog I miss you!!It's been a while since I've posted anything. I'll explain why.
I started school again…I started work again…umm…that's about it.
But it's enough to make my brain spin sometimes, which makes me forget about awesome things like my blog. (A tragedy, I know.)
So I'm writing here to promise to put renewed effort into this scrap of the internet that I claim to be mine.
Some of the things I'm currently working on are:
www.disneymadesimple.com This website of mine is my excuse for learning more about Disney World and loving every second of it. It needs a new design and interface and so….that's where my work comes in.
www.thefoodxchange.blogspot.com This blog is my motivation for learning healthy, easy recipes, in order to force myself to be a healthier individual.
www.jmandmdesign.com This website is my freelance graphic and web design business, requiring enough work on it's own, let alone along with all this other nonsense I'm doing.
Reading Music. This endeavor is proving to be pretty fun and not all that time consuming, which is nice for a change.
Learning French. Learning another language has always been a dream of mine. My audio tutor whom I play while doing Photoshop homework, has helped me learn how to say precisely one phrase. ("I know a little bit of French."….Which happens to be entirely untrue, depending on how you define "a little".)
Art Journaling. I was introduced to this concept by my 2D design teacher last semester. I purchased a lovely book on the subject and created my very first entry, only to not have the time to pursue it. I vow to try and get an entry in every weekend.
Yoga Training/Teaching. I taught two of my eight community service hours required for my level 1 certificate this summer, thanks to the generosity of my great friend. I plan to force my parents to take the rest of the hours I am required. (hehe.) I am also working on setting up my level 2 training and very excited to continue my learning. I also plan to actually use my gym membership and take at least 2 yoga classes there a month, in order to attempt to get my money's worth.
School. Although I'm taking only two classes, Photoshop is quite time intensive as is my Advertising class. I am however, grateful that I took the two classes at the same time, because they tend to tie into each other quite nicely.
My Blanket. Remember my crochet post? ("Sure I do!", you say.) Well my blanket is coming along very nicely. It no longer looks like a table runner and it is now big enough that I can actually use it to keep me warm while I'm crocheting it.
So, that's what I've been doing with my time. As you can see, I have about 25 billion things going on at once, but that's the way I like it. What's life without a little craziness?
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