Post Graduate School life has been great. I love all the time I have to do whatever I want. I’ve watched so many movies, got caught up on my TV shows, kept a clean apartment, became a better teacher, etc. However, now that I am not busy with school all the time, I am finding it harder to be social. This might not make sense, but I had graduate school as a cover-up for so long. It was a great excuse to keep me busy. I have such a hard time getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. But now that my closest friends have moved away or started spending all their time with their boyfriends, I am now forced to branch out. Today was good though, I met two new girls in my ward that seem normal. :) I am trying to make conversation with people and get to know more of the new people in my ward. Luckily, I got the calling of compassionate service leader. With this calling, we go on visits every other week to meet sisters in our ward. Like it or not, I am now forced to go out and talk to people. Ha, you might not have known it, but I am incredibly shy. This is a good experience for me... I guess.
Christmas was wonderful. It started with a best friend gift exchange.
Then, I went up to see my family for two weeks and had the best time. This time I spent a few days with each brother before coming back to my parents. It was great. I was able to spend time with everyone in a smaller, more personal setting and loved it. I took 10,386 pictures, but am only putting a few on here. The rest are all on facebook. I started out the holiday by helping put on a baby shower for my sister-in-law Nicole.
Then I headed to Olds to see Warren, Ave, Ally, and Grace. Averley convinced me to buy some skates. Ha. She didn’t really, but in my defense to my dad for spending so much money, it was her fault. :) I revisited my love for skating. I forgot how much I love it. I’ve been meaning to go since coming back to Idaho but just haven’t made the effort. That being said, I WILL go skating somewhere this week. Mark my words.
Next I went back to Ryan and Nicole’s. The highlight was definitely honing in my artistic abilities and helping paint the mural for Scooter’s nursery. We are so talented. Nicole finished it after Christmas, and I think it looks AMAZING! And of course, more skating happened. :)
The final stop was my parent’s house. Jordan, Cyd, and Gus met up with us there. Warren, Ave, and family came down, too. All in all, it was a wonderful vacation, and one that I was finally able to enjoy without worrying about school. The best gift of all...
January started off pretty depressing. I was not happy at all to be back in Idaho. I realized during Christmas that I really want to move back there and live closer to my family, despite the frigid cold weather. My BFF moved back to Canada, my roommate was staying with her family all the time, and my other besty starting dating her boyfriend seriously. That left me pretty alone. I had to resort to traveling to socialize. I went to Blackfoot, Pocatello, and Utah to visit friends of mine. It was awesome, and worth the trip, but I need to start making some more local friends. I realized I was having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. I decided to start seeing a therapist. She has been great at helping me sort out my feelings about Tyler and building back my self-confidence. I think it will be great to help me get back to my old self again. I’ve missed that girl. :)
I have my first student teacher this semester. She is AWESOME! I love everything about her. She is great with the kids, and takes direction really well. It is hard for me to step back. I want to tell her exactly how to do every little thing, but that’s not my job anymore. Now I am supposed to be out of the classroom, letting her be completely independent. It is so hard to not know exactly what is going on in MY classroom. But apparently it isn’t my classroom anymore, it’s our classroom. I am really glad I got her as a student teacher, though, and not the other one at our school. I think we mesh better together. She’s here until April 1st, and then I’ll only have about 6 weeks left of the school year. I can’t believe how quickly the end is coming. I can’t wait to finish and then leave Idaho for good, hopefully.
My parents bought a house in Mesa, Arizona, so I decided that I am going to apply for jobs there, and in Canada. I know Canada is my number one choice, but Arizona would be much better than Idaho. While my student teacher is here, I’m using that time to take a Canadian History class, in order to make sure I am completely certified to teach in Alberta. I hope that will help me get a job this year. We’ll see...
I saved the best news for last: Ryan and Nicole had their baby! She was over a week late, and after 53 hours of labor, Nicole delivered a sweet, baby girl - Sophie Andree Anne Van Orman. I am so excited to meet her! I am heading up next month for a visit, and can NOT wait!
There you have it – the lengthy, long awaited update. I plan on staying more on top of things now, so keep checking back. :)
