#1 About Me

1-What are your favorite things to do when you are not at school or doing homework?
I enjoy watching movies. For Christmas I got Netflix which is brought new meaning to my life. Nah, I am just kidding but it is fun because they have every movie you can think of to watch, even the really good old ones. My movie buying days are over! I also love to read and I could be content reading all day. I especially love historical fiction. I wish I could live in England back in the 1800s.

2-When have you been really proud of yourself?
I am not sure I can pinpoint one exact moment because I find pride in most things I do because I do not do anything without putting 110% effort into it. One example and this may seem artificial of me but I do enjoy making cakes and every time a new cake is created that sense of pride is what keeps me going to make a new cake.

3-What are you really good at in school? How do you know?
Well I would like to think I was good at it but I have always enjoyed English. I, not like most of my fellow classmates growing up, loved to write papers. I couldn't just write boring papers about some book I had read. I had to breathe life into my paper and try as I might to bring a laugh to my teacher reading it. Whether my teacher thought it was funny or not, I always had an A in my English classes.

4.What background, talent, skill and interest do you have in each of these:

a) music
I love to sing but that doesn't mean I can do it well. My sisters teased me relentlessly growing up that I was the worst singer on the planet. Well that probably prevented me from going on American Idol but it doesn't stop me from singing everywhere I go. My other musical outlet was playing the piano. I actually don't mind playing for pleasure but being force to practiced kept me from doing so. I begged my mom to let me quit but I still like to sit down every once in a while and teach myself a new song.

b) visual arts
I have always thought of myself as creative. When I was little I wanted to be an artist for the longest time. I still have my notebook full of drawings. I remember holding a flashlight under the sheets while drawing what I thought I might look like when I grew up. When I got older for whatever reason I didn't really pursue the arts in school until my senior year. I took Photography and Calligraphy. Both were fun but as of now most my visual arts goes into making cakes.

c) dance
I took ballet, jazz, and tap when I was younger. I loved all three, especially jazz because it made me feel grown up. My best friend was in my dance class until she moved away. Then being the dramatic little girl I was, I just couldn't dance without her so I moved onto sports. Now I wish my mom would have made me stay because I really admire dancers my age. When I was in my senior year I took ballroom dance. It was a blast learning all the different dancing styles. Unfortunately we did not have enough boys in our class so for a few of the styles, like country swing I only learned the guy steps. That was put into good use when in college I took Western Swing. I was able to learn the girl steps and teach guys who were struggling what they needed to fix.

d) theater
Growing up with only sisters certainly gave me enough drama in my life but I loved doing plays in school. I remember playing a fairy in a Midsummer Night's Dream in six grade. In middle school I was the evil villain in our school's spoof of The Lord of the Rings. I was also the star in our play Sleepover, where I was hosting a sleepover and we watched TV and other actors got play different live shows or commercials. I still loved to act but when I hit high school I stopped taking theater. I still went to every musical our school and surrounding schools put on. I absolutely love musicals and would have loved to be in one but as I have told you I can not carry a tune and beside I think I enjoy watching them more.

5. What is hard for you? What makes it hard?
Well Math has always been the bane of my existence. It does not come naturally to me at all but with a LOT of studying and a LOT of frustration I can pull through and get it, whether or not I will remember it is another matter entirely. Math is hard but learning Spanish has truly been my struggle. I loved learning the language. I have taken six years of it and really not much to show for it. I have a really good vocabulary but without going somewhere and being truly immersed in the language I don't know that I will ever be fluent. So that is a goal of mine someday.

6. What is your favorite children's book, and why is it your favorite?
Truly, my favorite book is Purple Pickle Juice. I got it when I was little going on a trip with my dad and we were at the airport book store waiting for our flight. I loved to read even then and I saw the book and had to have it. I read that book every time I was mad or sad to get my mind off things and it always made me feel better. This book is about a little girl who is the smallest/youngest in her family (just like me) and she just wants to grow up. So she drinks a glass of purple pickle juice every morning because she thinks that will help. Then in a fit of angry because it is not working her aunt, who is a witch, comes and tries to help her. Her aunt is hard of hearing and when she says she wants to grow, her aunt think she said she wants to it to snow, then she wants to row, etc. Through all her aunt's spells she realizes she likes herself just the way she is and she drinks the juice because she likes it.

7. What is your favorite TV show, when can you spare time to watch it?
I love TV but my absolute favorite show is called Psych. It is about a psychic detective who solves murders but isn't actually psychic, just very observant. It is hilarious! I don't have cable and it plays on a network I don't get so I used to rent them from the library until we got netflix. My whole family loves the show and we watch it together as a family whenever we can. It's our bonding moment.

8. What movie could you watch again and again?
I could watch the Italian Job over and over and I do watch it over and over. I have it on my Ipod and watch it whenever, wherever.

9. What are some things you really care about?
On the top of my list is my family. I am very close with them and they are everything to me. We all get along very well and I consider them my closest friends. I care for my religion, it the light at the end of my tunnel in all things. It always there for me when life seems impossible and it keeps me going. It guides me in my life to do good. I care about mercy and that everyone should get a fair trial and treatment. I care about education and that is the best way for everyone succeed in life and become equals. If you have nothing else at least you have your education.

10. What will set you apart as a teacher?
I am energetic person with a sense of childlike excitement. I am not afraid to get on the floor and learn with my students. As a student I felt like a lot of my teachers didn't care whether I learned something or not. So as a teacher I want my students to know that I care. I want to bring synergy into the classroom and make us a family. I am creative and will come with lots of ideas to teach things many different ways. I won't give assessments just to give assessments. I will take those assessments and analysis where the student is at and what they need to work on to improve.

11. What else should I know about you as a person and as a student that could help me be a better teacher? What would you like me to know about you that I haven't asked about?
I like clear instructions and some leeway for creativity.