After I was done teaching my first English class on Monday, I realized that I had forgotten to introduce myself to the kids. Seriously. Didn’t say my name. Didn’t say who I was. None of it!
Luckily, most of the kids are aware of me and my family’s history at NCCS. Many are friends of Janelle’s (“you look just like her!” Trust me. We’re already sick of it). One is my old pastor’s kid. Another is actually my cousin.
As far as errors with students go, not too bad. But, kinda rude. Seriously.
So, I decided to rectify this situation, first and foremost, in today’s class. I also told them how much I LOVE English. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to be an English teacher.
This realization is not new to me, but it did cause me to reflect. God has been preparing me to teach English my entire life. It’s easy to look back and see how he planted the love of reading and writing so early on, bringing it to fruition decades later.
Consider:
* I was 3 when I started reading. I went straight to chapter books.
* By the time I entered preschool at 4, I was reading the entire Little House on the Prairie series. On the playground. Instead of, you know, playing. I was a freak.
* When I was 4, I stood up and read a large passage of Scripture for a church service. I have no idea why my parents decided it was good to encourage my precocious attitude.
* In my Kindergarten Entrance exam when I was 5, the teacher began by asking me questions from her textbook. Things like, “Can you write your name?” or, “Can you stack blocks?” or, “Should you bring a gun to school?” All of a sudden, she realized that I was saying the textbook’s sample answers, verbatim, right back to her. She then realized I was reading the answers back to her upside down from across the table.
* One of NCCS oldest employees, the 3rd grade teacher, came up to me during Orientation last week and said that she remembered me, mostly because when I was in the 1st grade, I used to “travel” to 3rd grade for the half the day that included reading and writing (when it was time for math, I travelled back down to my real class!). She said that I easily could’ve skipped to 4th (one of the reasons my parents decided to homeschool me– that, and my “out of control” sassy attitude! Who, me?).
* I wrote my first “novel” in the 2nd grade. There are over 75 pages in it, chalk full of writing. The plot was….weird. About a Jewish/Israeli kid named Amazon who goes blind. His cousin from Paris, Pierre, comes to live with him and teach him how to get around the city, using only his hands and knees for sight. Oh yes. I knew all about being blind. It was super accurate. Changed the world, really.
* I won my first writing context when I was 9, in a magazine called, “American Girl”.
* When I took my SATs, I got only 2 wrong on the English portion. I was, however, very below average in math. By very, I mean that I may have forgotten how to add simple numbers.
* All throughout college, I got used to non-English dept. professors telling me that the only reason I still got an A was because of my end of the semester paper. I used those babies to cover all manner of sin and ineptitude!
There are many other things that I love to do, such as sing, play piano and decorate. They are all things that God has given me the ability for, and they are all talents I have used to make money, one way or another. But I think that it has always been clear that I was supposed to read and write for a living.
And I am so grateful that I get to!
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Chrstina says
When I saw your blog post title, I thought you were going to talk about Lady Gaga. :).
Finding your vocation and getting to do it is awesome!
Kelly says
Christina,
I definitely wanted the title to imply that. I HATE that song, so I like to mock it whenever possible 🙂