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, March 1, 2011

We regret to inform you...

Well.

Grad school's a no. Didn't quite make the cut. I'm disappointed and a little embarrassed. Someone(s?) read 25 pages of my heart and soul--nothing could get more personal than your writing--and decided that it just wasn't good enough. I hate being vulnerable.

I know, I know. That just means that God has something else for me. But...quoi?

I think my quarter-life crisis starts here. The idea of another two-year program to bide my time in making any scary life decisions sounded very appealing. Especially since said two years would be spent in Nashville. I guess it's time to buck up and get buck.

In ebonics that means GET TOUGH. I said it today and Je'Corey praised me for using it correctly ("ayeeeee, dat white-girl swag Ms. M!!).

Now taking suggestions for future jobs. If any one of you suggests staying a 3rd year at RMS, I will come find you and punch you in the throat.
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7 comments:

  1. A fly on the wallMarch 1, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    100 percent their loss...and I mean that whole-heartedly. But just think...it will be a great story when you're a NY best seller :) Annnnnd if it makes you feel better...I applied for 11 positions within my company, got 1 interview and lost out to the girl who had been there 4 months less than me. I'm learning rejection can be good for the soul... :) love you and your writing so much!!

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  2. ClareMarch 2, 2011 at 7:58 AM

    Awh, man. Well, just to let you know, your beautiful letter to Vandy that was so essentially "you" inspired me to write the grant for the NCAC I just turned in the exact same way. I thought it was fab, what you wrote. NEWAYZ, you should come visit this weekend. I think Virginia and her hubby Jordan will come too! For realz. oxox.

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  3. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 8:57 AM

    I think author is a good idea. Think about it. You can be one of those struggling artists. It makes for great stories.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 2, 2011 at 12:05 PM

    Apply to other grad schools? or other schools to teach?

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  5. torMarch 6, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    Go back next year to RMS.. but every day have some tragedy as to why you can't make it into work and thus don't ever appear back in the school.
    Example excuses:
    1) tree fell down in front of house
    2) dog turned evil and mauled your face
    3) while cooking, chopped off hand and/or eye
    4) post traumatic stress disorder from last year
    5) you gained 50 lbs over night and have no clothes that fit
    6) a freak gas break blew up your home; need the day to recover/fix
    ..etc

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  6. LindseyMarch 8, 2011 at 4:39 AM

    My verse for the year has been Proverbs 16:9....pretty much, there is a way that seems right to us, but it is the Lord that will direct our steps.

    I know you know that...but sometimes feeling it inside is easier said than done. Praying that you'll see this not a a rejection, but God's way of leading you to something even greater.

    Also praying that the next steps will send you to Birmingham, Alabama. :)

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  7. BlogOctober 28, 2014 at 11:22 PM

    Remember this? Grad school = no Lee and no Maddox. No offense but I'm sure glad you didn't get in.

    And yes, I'm rereading your whole blog and I am up way too late considering I wake up at 5:30 every morning now. This is what it's come to. So GET. WRITING.

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