I have learned to live in my truth. To be honest with myself and those around me. To be honest about hating the gym and loving margaritas. To be honest about skipping church and listening to trap music. To be honest about binge watching Scandal and crying while watching Queer Eye. I am who I am. And three degrees later, I can honestly say ... I hate school.
Hate may be a harsh word (that my mother would not approve of) but I developed a strong dislike for school at an early age. As the daughter of two educators, excelling in school was the only option. You could say my parents had a not so subtle expectation of earning A Honor Roll. To keep the family ties strong, I did what I needed to do. I did the homework, passed the tests and stayed out of the principal's office (except for that one time I got into an argument with my boyfriend but we will save that for a different blog). But the idea of sitting in class and listening to a subject I truly did not care about was annoying. Waiting to see what grade I earned for a project on the structure of cells was equally annoying. IT WAS BORING!
My freshman year of high school, I found my saving grace. Spirit Week! Spirit Week was a week of competitions between the grade levels. My high school was a magnet school with strict focus on academics and minimal focus on extracurricular activities. We had a few sports such as soccer and volleyball but we were there to learn. PERIOD! So when the fun of Spirit Week rolled around, it was GAME ON! I enjoyed every minute. I enjoyed every second. My first Spirit Week led me to running for class office and joining other clubs. Spirit Week, ring ceremony, prom, student elections, and club meetings became my life.
I carried this same energy with me to college. Yea, yea, yea ... I was there to earn a degree. But I also decided to join the dance team, pledge a sorority, serve on student government and work in residence life. In the words of my students ... It was LIT! In the morning I endured my classes and in the afternoon I was running between meetings, practices and events. If I could just figure out an obscure way to skip classes, I would become an eternal college student.
So how does the student, who hates school, earn three degrees and become an educator? You have to read the next blog for that ...
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