Hello friends, family, and strangers (I flatter myself)! I am a recently-graduated girl finding my way in the "real world" (apparently, I've been floating around the fake world for the past two decades). Many of my friends' "real world"s consist of cubicles, nine-to-fives, marriage, babies, and other such grown-up things. My real world looks a little different. Yes, I still get up and go to work every morning, same as they do. But instead of battling fax machines, computer programs, disgruntled spouses and dirty diapers, I arm myself against a legion of 14-year-old boys. Well, 83 of them to be exact. You see, I teach 8th-grade boys' Science in an inner-city, high-poverty school. What it is not: glamorous, prestigious, boring. What it is: humorous, heartbreaking, and the most challenging thing I will ever do.

The stories I tell and the people I describe are real; you can't make this stuff up. If you are new to my blog, I hope you'll start at the beginning and fall in love with its characters, just as I have.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Sweet Home Alamabama

It is embarrassing how devastated I was by Alabama's loss Saturday. I should have just taken the weekend for what it was--a great weekend away to catch up with old friends and relax. Instead, Saturday night consisted of me avoiding TVs/internets, sitting on the coach bemoaning life, gorging myself on delicious/heart-attack-inducing dips (Thanks Megan), and desperately trying to get in touch with people who would gladly join me in wallowing in misery.

If I thought walking down the ramps of the stadium after the game afforded me enough crap-talking to last a lifetime, I was wrong. The taunts and key-jangling I received there were NOTHING compared to what awaited me at RMS Monday. From the time the 8:15 bell rang 'til the kids left at 4:00, there was not a moment where I wasn't reminded of the score, Alabama's record, Alabama's rank, the grim stats...

When I walked into the classroom first block, I was greeted by a mural on my whiteboard consisting of me wearing an Alabama shirt, tears streaming down my face and the score repeated over and over in the background. The banner over the whole scene read: "Alamabama got KILLED by South Carolina!!!"

Yes, you read that right. Alamabama.

"That's really great, " Mr. M said sincerely when he walked in after school and saw the whiteboard.

"Yeah, yeah congratulations on Ohio State taking the lead," I sighed.

"No, no I'm talking about the kids caring so much about your team!"

"Ummm, did you READ what they wrote? Did you HEAR them today?"

"Yes. But that's how they show they care about you. They don't know how to say, 'hey, sorry your team lost' because no one's ever talked to them that way. They just have to show you the only way they know how. I promise it's a good thing!"

Maybies.

Stay tuned. I called about 9287983 parents tonight (man there were some good ringback tones) and one of them is actually going to come to school, hide in the closet to observe her hellion-of-a-son, then surprise ambush him in the middle of class. I kid you not. I'm like a kid the night before Christmas morning; I can't WAIT!
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2 comments:

  1. A fly on the wallOctober 13, 2010 at 5:08 AM

    bahahaha!! The ring back tones got me!! Oh man...I wish I could have come and held your hand Monday-God bless you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lindsey SmithOctober 13, 2010 at 8:49 AM

    OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!?!! HIDE IN THE CLOSET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE DO A LIVE VIDEO FEED!!!!!!!

    don't worry. i made myself a stiff drink and ordered a pizza... and DID NOT MOVE for 4 hours after the game. me, nathan and miller. we were pathetic.

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