overwhelmed?!

Last week the other shoe dropped in my grad school career and I was forced to look at actual numerals, you know, those things that measure things. I am not big on measurements. Heck, I think some assessments are just plain silly--the growth chart in Spanish is a lot more than numbers and is more about can you get your point across? Even when I cook, after the first few times of a new recipe it's often just a crap shoot of throwing things together. So last week when faced with a 20-page assignment of looking at actual numerals and actually adding and figuring out percentages, I literally came home from class and cried. Not just one night but two nights in a row, I cried.

Now, what excites me about the numerals is that they can be translated into beautiful graphics. Graphics excite me. Colors excite me. It's represented the numerals accurately that I am afraid I will woefully mess up.

It's a challenge. Challenges are GOOD. They mean that I am actually out of my comfort zone, and growing. Growing is done through pain, people. I know that.

Anyway. Expect more tears. And then expect some rocking graphics and charts that paint a picture of the people I serve and the people I work with and for. It will help me to design a better research proposal and it will help me understand what challenges are out there for the district as a whole.

In OTHER news....my advanced Spanish classes are ROCKING. It ain't easy to speak Spanish 90% of the time but we are doing it and I am giving lots of props and support and in return they are trying! They are trying to speak a language that is not their own. They are laughing. They are asking for help and support. They seem to understand that the learning curve is steep. It's like me and the numerals. It makes me cry but when I get it it will make me dance with joy. The sheer fact of knowing how it feels to not be Ms Automatically Successful Right Off The Bat gives me more empathy for my students than ever before. And that my friends is a VALUABLE experience.