A Weekend of R & R
This weekend proved to be a much-needed break for me. I know we've only been back in school for a couple of weeks now, but I already feel like I have so much to do! I like staying busy, but it's always nice to have some down time. I went to two basketball games this weekend: the Belmont men's game and the Vanderbilt men's game. 
Both teams won and I had a lot of fun at the games. I'm looking forward to the Belmont vs. Lipscomb game on February 22nd. My mom will be in Nashville that weekend so hopefully we will be able to go.
Although I did rest and relax this weekend, I also did a lot of running and reading. My friend, Laura (in the picture with me), and I are following Hal Higdon's half-marathon training program so we completed our first four-mile run on Sunday. It was pretty intense, but it felt good to accomplish it. We ran three miles today and tomorrow we'll run three more. The training schedule looks very manageable; you gradually increase the mileage over the course of 12 weeks, so by the Saturday before the marathon you should be able to run ten miles. I'm excited! I love running because I feel like it gives me a chance to unwind, destress and refocus. It also definitely helps to train with someone--it would be much harder to try to do this by myself.
I had my second day of Foundations of Education today and I absolutely LOVE that class! The teacher, Dr. Myron Oglesby-Pitts, is wonderful and she makes the three hours pass by quickly. On the very first day she had written on the chalkboard, "Welcome to your first day of becoming one of America's best...a teacher!" Something about that statement just clicked with me and I instantly felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. One of the components of this class is the JA, Junior Achievement, program. Essentially, we (the students in Foundations of Education) get to teach five pre-planned lessons to a class at a local Nashville school. Since I am leaning toward elementary education, I will be working with kindergarten through 4th graders; I'm not sure which class I will be assigned to, but I think that 1st grade would be really fun. I can't wait to get started. I used to spend hours playing school with my little brother (I would often pretend that my stuffed animals were his classmates), so being able to student-teach is such an exciting opportunity for me. Also, this should give me a good idea as to whether or not I want to declare an Elementary Education major...again.
Well, I'm off to eat dinner now! I've really been enjoying the lemon bars from the Caf...every time my friends and I see them we make sure to grab one before they're all gone!!
