"You Look Like You're 15"

Hey all!!

I know it's been a while, but I just wanted to drop a quick hello and update on what's been going on in my life! But first of all, happy 1st birthday to my sweet little niece!!!! Her birthday was a few days ago, but I just had to share this adorable picture! Isn't she a doll?? I love her so much and I can't wait to squeeze her again!!!

Adjusting to New Orleans is getting progressively easier, and I am now happy to announce that I no longer need a GPS to get to school every morning, I know, that's huge! That being said, it's pretty much a straight shot from my house and I should've got rid of the training wheels sooner, but better late than never, right?

Professional development is going well! There are plenty of long days and then long evenings where I pretty much work all the time, but I'm really enjoying it a lot. Even though it's kind of frightening to think that I'll be in front of real live students in 2 weeks, it's also super invigorating and exciting. Day 1 is going to be wonderful and scary at the same time--hopefully I'll be able to post so that you can all know how it went!

My music room! It needs a little help haha :) 

I wanted to share a funny moment that happened yesterday at school. It's funny because I feel like it's going to happen a lot, especially since I'm teaching high schoolers!

The context was a parent was looking for our team room and I was in the area and offered to help her. The conversation went a little like this:

"You're looking for building 8?" I asked as I fell into step beside her.

"Yes, the team room I believe?" she responds, smiling. "It's so nice they have students assisting on campus during the summer. I'm sure that comes in handy during new student visits."

"Yeah, it's sweet of them to use some of their summer to help paint classrooms or do odds and ends around campus," I said, returning the smile. 

"Are you going to be a sophomore or junior?" she asks me. It then struck me that she was implying I was the student assisting on campus. 

"Oh, neither," I said, "I'm actually the music and life skills teacher."

"What???" She looked visibly confused and then goes, "You look like you're 15!" 

I don't remember what I said, it was probably along the lines of "oh, I get that a lot," and even though she had no hurtful intentions, part of me is concerned about my appearance, particularly my stature. For those of you who may be reading and don't know me as well as others, I'm really short.

In fact, when I was struggling to get hired at the beginning of the summer, many principals had the same thing to say about me, "She has a great heart, a ton of enthusiasm, and will be a great teacher, but she looks too young to be teaching secondary students." That's why they wouldn't hire me.

I've always had issues with my size, (don't even get me started on how difficult it is to buy pants), but I don't think it's something that should slow me down or prevent me from being the best I can be. Being fun sized is something I've always enjoyed because it sets me apart from others, but lately it's felt like more of a hindrance than anything else.

Any advice?