Learning to Live

This is a collection of the funny things students have said to me throughout the course of the semester. Chances are you won't think these are as funny as I did, but they are definitely worth a good chuckle. "Ms. Thompson, why do you wear slippers everyday?" (Um, excuse me? These are obviously nude flats.)     Student: "Ms. Thompson, how old are you?"       Me: "21."      Student: "Does that mean you can drink beer?     Different student: "Wow, that's weird you looked 19 up there."     Me: *no response*     Student: "That's so cool, I can't wait until I'm 21. Only 9 more years!"               Homecoming dress up days are interesting: Me: "What Disney character are you?" Student: "I'm the hunter who shot Bambi's mom."  Me: "...."                           After giving 7th graders candy: "...

It's hard to believe that the most amazing and influential semester of my college career is over. This semester was filled with valuable learning experiences, and although it killed my social vibe, I wouldn't trade what I learned and the time I spent with my students for anything. The time I spent in the classroom showed me that I really was born to do this. There were times when it was harder than I ever imagined, but when I was able to watch a concept click in a student's brain, it was all worth it. And the relationships I built with the students were incredible. I know people feel sorry for me because I spent my entire semester with 7th and 9th graders, but the reality is that they aren't all that bad. And we have to remember that we were at the point in our life once too. That point where we don't know who we are or what's happening with our bodies. That point when our biggest concern is who we will hang out with on Friday night. I remember these times wel...

I am reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio with my 7th graders right now, which is an awesome young adult novel that focuses on the importance of kindness. The response to this book is overwhelming and it has sparked a movement across the nation. Children are encouraged to sign the pledge after reading the novel and choose to be kind. I'll admit that this simple young adult novel is one of my favorite books, not only because of the overall message it sends to children and adults alike, but because it is filled with tons of awesome mini-messages. One of the teachers in the book, Mr. Browne, introduces precepts to his students once a month to help his students recognize what is important in life. The reading from last night included one precept that I found especially important: "Fortune favors the bold." I appreciate this precept because it reminds us that if we want to reap the rewards that life offers us, we have to be willing to take risks. We have to take action if we ...

I love half birthdays. I love to celebrate them. Especially my own. (No surprise there) Some people tell me that this is dumb, but I believe that every day is a celebration in itself, and half birthdays are just that much more of a reason to celebrate. The fact that I'm 21 and a HALF today is pretty legit. I will never be this young again. I'm halfway to what I have deemed to be considered the age where real adulthood sets in. It's an excitingly terrifying day (most days are lately), so of course I celebrated. I bought myself some new things and got ice cream, and felt a little bit happier today even though I chilled out on reminding people that it was indeed my half birthday. Perhaps I like my own half birthday because I choose to treat myself, but it's important to celebrate for friends too. A cupcake or ice cream or Caribou can make a difference in their day. The reality is that a half birthday is just another day to celebrate how much we love life and/or those ...

As a future English teacher, I have decided that it's time to get past my irrational dislike (fear?) of poetry. Lately I have been reading more poetry than ever in an effort to embrace its beauty. This process has been going surprisingly well. One of my favorite authors, Louise Erdrich is a Minnesota native and author of the 2012 National Book Award for fiction,  The Roundhouse. She  has a powerful book of poems, Original Fire: Selected and New Poems, that includes her poem "Advice to Myself." Her poem inspired me to try my hand at writing poetry and write some advice to myself. Hopefully this comes in handy in my creative writing course next semester. Click here for a link to Erdrich's poem: "Advice to Myself" by Louise Erdrich Here is my attempt at a similar poem: You will always want to sleep, but you don't always need a bed time. Thinking about dessert all the time isn't as bad as always eating it, and you should definitely never ski...

For those that don't know, I am student teaching in a 7th and 9th grade English classroom this semester, and it is SO AWESOME. I'm sure I will write more about it sometime when I have more than 10 minutes. Anyway, I am currently reading one of my favorite YA (young adult) novels with my seventh graders right now. Wonder  by R.J. Palacio is a fantastic read for middle schoolers, and everyone. The central theme of the novel focuses on kindness, and every one of us could always use the reminder to be kind. Last week I had my students read an excerpt from the novel to prepare them to read it, and I was astonished by how well they connected with it. I just really need to share it with everyone. This is a speech by the principal in the book, Mr. Tushman. I hope you can take away the same message that my seventh graders did. A Simple Thing “…. When you reflect upon this past year, I want you all to look at where you are now and where you’ve been. You’ve all gotten a little...

Wow, what a whirlwind of a week. It seems fitting that my last Homecoming at Concordia was the best one yet. Part of me thinks that it is because I'm finally old enough to actually "have a good time", but I know that there's more to this wonderful experience. For one, it was great to see the efforts of some of my best friends put into action as we planned this amazing celebration. It wasn't always easy to be a part of this committee this year, but seeing it all in action made it completely worth it. I loved being part of such an amazing group of Cobbers that worked hard to complete their goal. In this case our goal was to have an awesome Homecoming, and I am happy to say that we definitely succeeded (Shout out to Lindsay Jacobs and the whole exec team for making this possible). This was also the first year that I actually got to appreciate the alumni who returned. Not that I haven't enjoyed meaningful conversations with alumni in past years. The big differ...

So I have been home from camp for exactly one week now, and this blog post is way past due. Mostly because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to sum up this summer. Here is an entry from my journal earlier this week: "I've been trying to compose a clever way to express how amazing this summer was, but all I have is 'Any summer spent wearing Crocs is a summer well spent.' That feels like it does zero justice to how wonderful this summer was. Although it somewhat sums up the acceptance and comfort of camp, and how happy I was to wear my Crocs 24/7, there's no way it can capture the memories I made new friends in such a beautiful place. Although this phrase doesn't seem all that deep, perhaps it's all people need to know. Unless you were there, it's difficult to understand. There's so much more that happened this summer, but I think the memories I made and the feelings I felt are something for me to hold on to. I was struggling with everything...

As I sit in the airport, by myself, after a few weeks of relaxing at home, I’m pretty excited to take off on my next adventure-- excited and also incredibly terrified. On one hand, this is a great opportunity and I’m sure it is an experience I will cherish forever. I get to take a break from the norm. I get to spend a significant amount of time across the country surrounded by people who are presumably fun and outgoing (I’m making this assumption based on the fact that we all want to spend our entire summer hanging out with kids). I get to try new things. I get to eat fresh lobster. I get to try logrolling. I get to hang out with kids and play volleyball on the beach of a gorgeous lake. Not only is Maine supposedly breathtakingly beautiful, but it’s different from everything I know. It’s outside of my comfort zone.   On the other hand, leaving your comfort zone is a terrifying thought. I’m leaving everything I have ever known. Although it is only for two months, this is tw...