Shaping young lives.

I'm a "teacha" now! How very odd to be on this side of the classroom dynamic.

A little about how I got here...
For a few years now, I've been thinking about teaching, and when we moved to Columbus, an opportunity arose. I was convinced that I needed my Masters, but apparently that's not the case for every school... especially schools that are desperate for adjunct instructors. So, I've picked up a class each quarter, not because I need the money, but because I want to feel like I'm making some sort of impact.

So what do I teach?
Well, this is my third quarter, and each time I've been given a brand new (to me) class. All classes are part of a Digital Media Design Associate degree program. My first quarter, I taught Fundamentals of Drawing. Man, I had to go back to the drawing board (bahaha.. sorry, awful, awful pun) to remember my 4 semesters of drawing class & figure out what the heck I was supposed to be teaching them. Last quarter I taught Design Fundamentals, which is much more comfortable for me. This quarter, I'm teaching Typography.

I feel like I'm learning just as much as I'm teaching.
Education is a funny thing. Having no training on how to teach, I'm sort of... wingin' it. As I go, I'm learning what works and what doesn't, what sticks and what doesn't. It boggles my mind how I can say something like "There is some visual tension here," which turns into everything having some sort of tension, somewhere. Or I can say "Papyrus is not your friend," and the next 4 projects I get from that person use Papyrus. Why? I have no idea.

My theory on students and authority figures.
It seems the first couple weeks of each quarter are slightly painful. Some students fight me on every direction... "This isn't my process." "I don't think like that." Basically... "I wanna do it my way, not yours." To which I say, "Too bad."... with some further explanation, of course. My theory is that for many students, teacher/authority figure = the enemy, until proven otherwise. Until they figure out that I do what I do in their best interest, they pretty much think I'm full of shit. Until something clicks (in other words, they learn something), they believe I'm just there to torture them. What is this about?! Do I really have to say, on the first day of class, that I am here because I want to be, because I want to help them succeed, because I want to share my knowledge and experience? Maybe I should. I haven't figured this out yet.

The rewards.
When my drawing student tells their classmate, "Wow, you have improved SO much! I can't believe it!" When a student tells me, "Your class makes me feel like I can talk confidently in front of a client." Or, "Looking back at our first project, I can see I've come such a long way in just one quarter." Great stuff. Makes my heart happy. Many of my students are older and looking to change careers, better their lives. If I can help them feel confident in their abilities and like they can tackle this job, that's what I want to do. It transforms this career in design, that sometimes feels so trivial, into something that I can actually use to help people improve their situation, hopefully by doing something they love. Pretty fantastic.

Change is SO good!

Well, friends, I'm still alive!

Sorry I have been MIA for the last few weeks. Life has been busy, busy... but GOOD busy, unlike the super stressful/annoying and overall BAD busy of before. 

We have moved & settled into our new place in Columbus. It's funny how comfortable I feel here compared to living in Charlotte. Ohio is, and will always be, HOME. I'm glad I figured that out sooner than later. And I'm lucky to have a husband that is more than willing to let me have that, even though home to him is the Rocky Mountains. 

Speaking of the Rockies... we managed to squeeze a trip out west into our crazy few weeks and had a fabulous time. Check this out: 

 

That's me, skydiving! 

Here's me, happy that I am still alive.
(I was nervous about that.)

How did this whole skydiving adventure come about, you ask? Well, my father-in-law is a second generation smoke jumper (you know, those crazy people who parachute into the wilderness to fight wildfires because it's impossible to get there in a vehicle). After that, he worked for the Forest Service on parachute design & testing and now he does top-secret stuff for the military. Cool, huh? So anyway, he signed us up for a jump and I thought what better situation than to jump with someone he knows is super good? Super good tandem jumper, Gary, pictured above. The guy has been jumping for 40-some years and has made over 8,200 jumps! Yeah, I think maybe he knows what he's doing.

Every experienced jumper I talked to before the big day (Paul, Paul's dad and Paul's grandpa) told me I wouldn't feel like I'm falling at all... no stomach in the throat, just the feeling of floating. I couldn't believe it, but that's TOTALLY correct. I had NONE of that roller-coaster feeling. I screamed, yes. But then I looked around at the gorgeous mountains. See?

(That's Paul & Gary coming in for a landing.)

I cannot WAIT to jump again. I think this is our new (expensive as hell) hobby. It takes 25 jumps to get certified to jump solo. Just FYI. Ha!

Anyway, back to the point. I'm loving the changes in my life - new state, new job (um, seriously, no boss is the best thing ever), new apartment, new (SHORT) drive to see the fam, new (LOW) stress level... good stuff. Very good stuff. Yay. :)

I can see it...

... the light at the end of the tunnel, that is.

GOODBYE southern weirdness, HELLO midwest normalcy!

GOODBYE crappy jobs, HELLO awesome opportunities!

GOODBYE 10 hour drive home, HELLO 2 hour drive home!

GOODBYE NASCAR fans, HELLO Buckeye fans!

....goodbye awesome weather, hello 6 months of winter.
Awe well. Can't win 'em all. :)


Columbus, Ohio... ETA 4 weeks!

I love Ohio.

I used to feel that way about the OH. Stuck. Like as in... "I NEED to move to Charlotte because it's gotta be better than this!" So, I did. Oh, well, OK, my husband (then boyfriend) had a lot to do with that decision.

But ya know what? Great weather and a relatively short drive to the beach or mountains really doesn't replace family, friends, and well... home. Charlotte friends, I LOVE YOU! And I'm so glad we know each other! So, don't get me wrong. There was just something about being in Ohio this past week that felt good. OK, so maybe because it was in the 70's and not snow/ice/sleeting, but still. I love Ohio and all of its quirks.

For you Ohioans...some oldies, but goodies.

You know you're from Ohio when:

• You don't think of Florida first when someone mentions Miami. (Go Redhawks!!!)
• You know what a buckeye really is, and have a recipe for candy ones. 
• "Toward the lake" means "north" and "toward the river" means "south." 
• You know what game they're playing when the Mud Hens take on the Clippers.
• You measure distance in minutes.
• You know if another Ohioian is from southern, central or northern Ohio as soon as they open their mouth.
• You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
• You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, and Tuscarawas and you know which letter is doubled in "Cincinnati." 
• You know (all too well) what "Lake Effect" means.
• You know all 4 seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction.