My job is the bestest :)

Okay, I know what you're all thinking... How can my job be the bestest when I don't have one?

Well, I feel inspired today, friends. I feel inspired today because now I am going to start substitute teaching. I went to my first meeting for it last Wednesday, and I went back today for orientation. They are still waiting on my background check to come through so as long as I've covered up that first degree murder well enough, I should be in the clear next week. After that, I just get to do what I love and get paid for it.

On my way home today, though, I got to thinking (Scary! I know.) I was thinking how much I think, actually know, I will love my career. I know that I'm not actually a teacher yet and I don't have my own classroom, but when I think about my future, I just get excited. I think of some of my close friends and roommates from college and how they have no idea what they want to do with their lives. Well even though it isn't me, I get stressed out about it. If I was almost 23 years old and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, I would probably just crawl up in a ball and cry. The good thing it, I do know exactly what I want to do. Now it's just the "getting there" part that's difficult.

Well since I'm OCD and a compulsive list maker, I have compiled yet another list for you kiddos today.

Reasons why my job is the bestest (hence the title)

1. I am a 5 year old. I love crayons, markers, paint, colored pencils, stamps, children's books, games, chalkboards, bright colors, glitter... I love it all. I always have. I am 22 years old and use little people (as in young people, not as in midgets) as an excuse to color. I get stressed out when I am coloring a page and they want to "help." Scribbling on my perfectly colored page is not helping!!! My nerves actually get upset at this. I also love projects. It doesn't matter what kind of project, it could be simply making a card or it could be a huge drawn out science fair project (let's be honest-- my mother is the only reason I won in 5th grade). But I love projects, they are just so fun. Since I love projects so much, don't you think I'll make a good teacher. (Here is where you either agree, or leave my blog at once.)

2. My favorite thing when I was little was "playing school". This is so true. I had a chalkboard and a desk and I was never the student. That was my brothers' job. I taught them their alphabet before I knew it myself and I taught them multiplication and division before I could add. As long as I got to write on the chalk board, and they had to listen to me, my life was complete. They really were good big brothers (most of the time). My mom bought me old textbooks from a yard sale and I would line up my stuffed animals and read to them all the time. I played school more than I played house, barbies, or anything else combined. Playing school was by far my favorite. What makes this so cool is that I get to play school for the rest of my life. HOW EXCITING IS THAT?!? (Please be excited. If not for yourself, at least for me)

3. Let's take a look at my grades in college. No lie. I am actually looking at my college transcripts...

College Algebra- D

American History- C

American Government- C

Principles of Biology- C

Real Number System (GAG ME)- D

Not pretty, huh? Well let's look at a few more...

Intro. to Education- A

Child Development- A

Physical Activities for Children- A

Teaching Reading in Elementary School- A

Technology in the Classroom- A

Educational Psychology- A

Teaching Strategies- A

Children's Literature- A

Classroom Management- A

Educational Strategies- A

Student Teaching Elementary- A

Do we see some sort of trend? Every single class that was an "education" class, I made and A. I know good and well that I could have, if I wanted to, done better in some of those other classes, but the point is... they did not interest me. Not one bit. It took all I had to study for 10 minutes before a test. But my education classes? EASY. It just came naturally to me. Now I am not going into teaching because it's easy (that's just a perk) but it does make me pretty excited about it.

4. My Student Teaching Experience. I loved every single day with my Kindergartners and 99% of the days with my sixth graders. I will say this, loud and clear... Sixth grade teachers should get paid wayyyyy more than Kindergarten teachers. Every day that I walked into the Kindergarten classroom, I would have little tiny arms wrapped all around me, hugging me, and telling me good morning. I loved every second of every day spent with them and I still miss them more than I ever thought possible. I loved every single one of them and yes, I had my favorite (shout out to Tristan) but I looked forward to seeing them every single day. I would come home from student teaching, completely worn out, but by the next morning I'd be ready to do it all over again. I would even miss them on the weekends. I had come to this conclusion last semester: If I can work 40 hours a week teaching, not get paid for it, and still look forward to going in every day??? How awesome is my life gonna be! Okay, so sixth grade was a little harder to get excited about it, but I still loved it, enjoyed it, and miss it.

I'm just so excited to have my own classroom, my own students. and my own "big girl teacher desk". I can't wait to inspire students, teach them, and watch them grow. Just excited about my life and needed to share. Hope you enjoyed (if not, why'd you read the whole thing?)

It's the small things...

When you spend three months of your life in a foreign country, with the same 40 people, it changes you. I miss Europe every single day of my life. I don't think a single day has gone by where something doesn't remind me of my trip, or some form of a memory doesn't start flooding my mind. If given the opportunity, I would leave right now and do it all over again. Granted, I would switch a few people out (namely one) but if that wasn't an option, I'd even take them.

Sure, I miss the scenery, the ancient cities, the foreign voices, and the piles of ruins but what I seem to think about most often is the small things.

This whole blog post was inspired by one tiny little memory... Goleadors. For those of you who are uneducated, I will give you a picture and a description...

Goleadors are the best 10 euro cent money could buy. They were just little gummy sticks but they were harder than gummy worms. I said I would try to explain them, but I lied. You just can't, they must be eaten to get the full extent of just how wonderful they were. I was taking Renaissance and Baroque Art with Dr. Gardner and it was the latest class of the day, right before dinner. I care absolutely nothing about art so I had to find something that would help me make it through this class. That's when goleadors came into my life. I would buy at least 5, more likely 10 of them every day before his class, and I would make them last the entire 80 minutes. Thank you, Goleadors, for being my life saver. I want a goleador and I want it now.

Cola Light- I do not miss Cola Light for the same reason that I miss goleadors. I miss Cola Light because it makes me thankful for Diet Coke. Cola Light is identity theft. It claims to be the same as Diet Coke but it is not. Diet Coke is nectar from the gods and Cola Light is just not. I made do while I was over there, but when we hit London and they had Diet Coke, real Diet Coke, I could've cried with excitement. Though it still didn't taste like Diet coke from the U.S., it was better than the intruder. But I would live without diet coke again if it meant I could go back to Europe (I would just drink Fanta :) )

Meal times- They were wonderful. I remember being curious about what type of pasta we were having that day. Pizza nights were awesome because they put random things that looked like sliced hot dogs on their pizza, and on pizza night we got cola light :) I miss fighting for the regular water because the fizzy water was just gross and tricking people into drinking it. I DON'T miss having ketchup smeared all over my face and arms by Justin and Ryan but even that torture, I would endure again, if it meant I could go back.

Reading- Reading is just way better when you're sitting out on the terrace over looking Italy. Not to mention, at the time I was reading Twilight (magical) and after I read about Volterra, I visited there (P.S. There is no clock tower. Disappointed.) But I just miss sitting out at the tables after class and reading, sometimes for hours.

Citerna- I miss this precious little town so much. I miss the bar that gave us gelato, sneaking out with Kelli and Shane to play on the playground, and Roscoe, the city dog, that did nothing but sleep. It was such a quaint little town, taken right out of a movie set and I miss it. I miss everything about Citerna.

Trains- I prefer trains to cars any day. One night on a train could get you to a different country. America just sucks sometimes. They need a train system. My first overnight train, I was in a car off 5 other people and no beds. I was absolutely miserable. It is not very comfortable trying to sleep, sitting straight up, crammed in a tiny room with six people. On my second free travel, however, I was spoiled. Alyssa meet Sleeping cars, Sleeping cars meet Alyssa. Yea, me and sleeping cars were best friends after that. Sleeping cars have six fold-out beds, three on each wall. It included a blanket and small pillow and sometimes it seemed better than a 5-star hotel. You could even lock yourselves in and make music videos all night, singing songs from Hairspray. It was awesome to be able to fall asleep in Italy and wake up in Paris. Just cool. I liked trains.

Lack of a cell phone- Not much to say about this other than I miss not being attached to my cell phone like it's part of my hand. I love my phone. I do. But I also miss not having a phone. I miss people not knowing every single thing I was doing and where I was at all the time. I know that if I wanted to, I could go without my cell phone here, but it's just different. Here, I feel like I need a cell phone, there I was more worried about having a camera in my hands (that is, until I lost it.)

My Yellow Backpack- That thing became a part of me. That big, huge, bulky, yellow backpack. I would cram a weeks worth of clothes in it and come home wearing half of them because on the way home, souvenirs took up all the room. I was heavy and annoying but I never minded carrying it. I was backpacking through Europe (while staying in hostels along the way) and I just didn't mind.

I just miss it.

My living quarters

I love my room. That is probably extremely weird but it is the only thing that is truly, completely, 100% me. Yes, I still live with my parents but I have my own house. I have to walk outside to get to their house so it really is a pretty good deal. I get my privacy without paying rent. It's a REALLY good deal when you don't have a job.

I'm sure everyone has things that they love about their own bedroom, but because it's my blog and I can, I'm going to share things (with pictures) that are my absolute favorite parts of my living space.

My Beatles Paraphernalia.

I am so in love with the Beatles, it's unhealthy. I feel like if you do not know this fact about me, we aren't really friends and you no longer exist to me. Moving on. I am just so fascinated by them.. Their life stories, their songs, the stories behind their songs... all of it. I have LOTS of Beatles stuff and I love it all. I have posters, quotes, books, even glasses that have the Beatles, and they are probably my absolute favorite part of my room.

My Europe shrine.

That's right, I have a shrine. My biggest regret from Europe is not getting more souvenirs. I want a beer stein from Germany, wooden shoes from Holland, and a $3,000 cuckoo clock from Switzerland (maybe not so much on the clock). I didn't buy enough. Probably, because I was running low on the cash flow (living in a foreign country isn't exactly cheap) but I just wish I could go back and buy more. But what I do have, which is pictures, a few souvenirs, and my passport full of stamps, is proudly displayed for anyone who goes in my room to see. And I love that I got the opportunity to go to Europe so I could build a shrine.

My Map.

This kinda goes along with Europe, but not really. My map has tacks in all the places I have been. When I look at it, I simply feel blessed. I feel blessed to have visited Washington D.C. last summer with my family, I feel blessed that I got to go on a cruise to Mexico with two of my absolute best friends, I feel blessed to have been able to visit my favorite U.S. City (New York) twice, and I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to live in Europe for three months with people who started out as strangers and now are some of my best friends and favorite people in the entire world. It may look like my map doesn't have many tacks on it, but I'm only 22. This summer, I will hopefully be adding Nicaragua and who knows beyond that. I love to travel. I'm obsessed with seeing the most beautiful places. Perhaps another day, I will write about my wish list of places to see. That will definitely be a long blog post.

My Turtle.

His name is Amadeus and he is awesome! I've wanted a turtle for a long time and I finally got one for Christmas last year. He eats a lot and he poops a lot but he makes me incredibly happy and I can sit on my floor and watch him for a very long time. (I am well aware that I have no life. You do not have to remind me.)

My Book Nook.

I have recently fallen in love with books. I just got done reading the latest Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven (highly recommend- LOVE HIM) and since I have read all of his to date, I had to find a new author. Her name is Cecelia Ahern and she is wonderful. Her first novel was P.S. I Love You and she has several more out. I figured since the movie was incredible, so was she... and I was right. Go out and find one, read it, and love it. I have a whole list of books I plan on reading. Next up is the Harry Potter series. I am finally caving. I want to be a Harry Potter nerd. There, I said it. I figured if soo many people are obsessed with it, then there must be something wonderful about it, right? Anyways, I love my little place to read. This is also the very site where I composed this blog. I know, you're impressed.

My DVD Collection.

All 143 of them, not including seasons of TV shows. They are in alphabetical order (OCD) and I have a list of them on my computer in case someone borrows one and forgets to give it back. I love my movies though, and I watch them a lot. Right now I'm more into TV shows but I love to sit down and watch a movie. You will find pretty much any genre, except scary ones (gag me!) and I just love them. I think after I'm done writing, I will go watch a movie :)

My Monkey Breath.

DO NOT JUDGE HIM. He can't help that he is ugly. Do not call him Reggie or whatever Emily used to call him (RUDE) and do not call him Banana Butt. His name is Monkey Breath and he is my friend. He has also traveled the world with me (Yes, I took him to Europe. No, I am not ashamed) I've had him since I was in elementary school and he was a gift from my Grans, she bought him at Universal Studios after I rode King Kong for the first time. I think he's beautiful

My "cool hats and other random things" Collection.

I have my guitar and maraca from Mexico, my cheese head from Wisconsin, my Statue of Liberty crown from New York, my red wig from homecoming senior year, my 2009 glasses and New Years hat from New York, my mickey ears from Disney World, the moose my mom got me from Alaska, and my mortarboards from both High School and College. Just fun times. I like it. You don't have to. This proves, once again, that I love to travel.

This blog is probably more interesting to me than all of you readers put together, but no worries... I don't care. I like my room. I like the things in my room. And I just wanted to share my room with you today.

Peace Out :)

Why I need a job...

I don't have a job. I need a job. It really doesn't get much more simple than that. See, once upon a time I was a full-time nanny. I loved my job! I got paid just over $400/ week to watch two kids. I took them to school, picked them up, helped them with their homework, cleaned up after them. You know, no big deal. And though $400/ week may not seem like a lot to you rich folk out there, I simply thought I had won the lottery. I never had to worry about gas money because I had it. I never had to ask my parents for money because I had it. I never had to say no to my friends when they wanted to go out because I had money. I miss money. That may sound superficial, but without money I live a boring life. Well, after one short month of my "daycaring" the kids (that's what Sophie called it), the mother decided she didn't like going back to work. This left poor me without a job. Poor me does not like not having a job...

So, for your viewing and reading pleasure, I have compiled a list. A list of reasons I NEED a job.

5. My room cannot possibly get any more clean- I have not one piece of laundry in my dirty clothes bin, both of my beds are made, and my turtle's tank is spotless. My room is clean, vacuumed, and Febreezed (something you need to know- I am obsessed with Febreeze. I think it's wonderful.) You see, in my spare time I sometimes get in a cleaning mood. That happened yesterday. After lunch, I cleaned my entire room and washed all my dirty clothes. Today, when I woke up, I was bored after 3 episodes of Dawson's Creek (which will be discussed later) and there was simply nothing to clean. I was sad. So very sad. Since I have nothing left to clean, I need a job.

4. TV Overload- There has never been a truer statement. My days have been filled with Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, The O.C., Friends, and my newest found love, Greek. Netflix has become my best friend and I feel absolutely ashamed of this. I watch TV all day long. Sometimes I have to switch up my shows because I get bored with one show, so I move on to something different. When I'm sick of Joey Potter and her oh-so-annoying smile, I switch over and fall in love with Joey Tribiani for the 17 billionth time. See how this can get tiring? I need a job.

3. I am going to get skin cancer- Where is a free place to go when you have no job and no money? The beach. Where does Alyssa go at least 3-4 days a week? The beach. I am almost African American. That is 100% truth. I feel like I am more tan in March than I was last year in August. If I keep going to the beach and getting darker, I will get skin cancer by age 24 and die. I don't want to die. Therefore, I need a job.

2. I currently have 34 cents to my name- Once again with the money talk, I know. But like I said... without money, there isn't a whole lot you can do. I like things. I like to buy things. I like places. I like to go places. Without money, that really isn't possible. While my parents have been beyond wonderful, it still would be nice to have my own money. All of my friends have jobs and they like to go out a lot. I remember once upon a time, a few weeks ago, when I could afford to go out with them. We had fun times. I can no longer afford fun times. Now the only fun times I am having are at the beach which will give me skin cancer and I will die. See how this proves that I need a job.

I know you've been waiting on my number one answer... well here we go

1. I spent $93,740,586,438 for my degree- Simply put, it should get me a job. I think a job should be GUARANTEED when you spend as much as I did on a bachelor's degree. Granted, I did graduate in the middle of the school year which is not ideal for someone trying to be a teacher. But still, a job should be part of the deal. We sell them our souls, they give us a job. I'll have to talk to good ole FHU about that one. I have to start paying back student loans soon. Very soon. How am I going to pay back student loans when I am only worth 34 cents? Because I spent more than a large fortune on 4 1/2 years of college and now have to start paying that money back... I NEED A JOB.

I think my reasons are valid. I think they are fair and they make since. So why don't I have a job? That is my question of the day. Why doesn't Alyssa have a job?

Lucky for me, I have orientation on Thursday to be a substitute teacher here in Jacksonville. While this is wonderful, it also ends at the end of May. Who would like to tell me how I am going to have a job this summer when students don't need teachers. I should have titled this blog "Why I need a job all year." Yeah, that would've been better.

So, there you have it. Until I have a job, I will continue to clean, get skin cancer, and fall in love with fictitious TV characters, and no one is gonna stop me (unless they offer me a job.)

The thing I thought I'd never miss

Makin' Music.

When I graduated in December, I swore I would never care about coming back for Makin' Music. I would never miss the tacky costumes, five pounds of make-up, two hours of sleep, or the make-me-wanna-scream-and-cuss weekend they call retreat.

Well, less than 3 months later here I am... missing it.

It happened on Friday... A normal day in my life-- jobless and beach-full and I got on facebook like I do on average 836402 times a day. EVERYBODY and their mother's status was about Makin' Music retreat. Every status and/or tweet said something along the lines of how they will never survive the weekend, how their cast is the greatest, or how they can't wait to bring home a trophy. All of a sudden, out of completely nowhere, I wanted, more than anything, to be back at Freed. The place I was so ready to leave when I walked across the stage with my degree on December 17 now was the place I would give anything to go back to. I literally never thought this would happen to me.

I did Makin' Music for three years at Freed and even though I didn't participate in it my senior year, I still got to go and watch what hundreds of students had been putting all of their time and energy in to for months.

Here's a little trip down memory lane for all two of you that are probably reading this...

Freshman Year- Chi Beta Chi (Rockin' on the Subway)

Sophomore Year- Gamma Tau Omega (Online Love Connection)

Junior Year- Gamma Tau Omega (Something about lunch ladies)

If I had more than 34 pennies to my name right now, I would pack up my little Saturn and make the 24 hour round-trip drive to Freed, and I wouldn't think twice about it. Unfortunately for me, 34 cents in gas might would get me to the end of my driveway. (Let's be honest-- probably not even half-way)

Makin' Music is the most exhausting, frustrating, emotional, intense, incredible time of the school year and I just miss it right now. A lot.

I never thought my very first blog post would be about Makin' Music, but here it is.