Surprise Visit!

I flew home to San Diego this past week for a mini vacation, and got to surprise my dad for his birthday! My mom and I pulled it off perfectly, and his face was priceless when I surprised him at the restaurant he decided to go to for his big day. My week back home was wonderful, and it was so nice to just relax, spend time with some amazing people, and not think about work for a week.  My week in San Diego made it almost harder to come back to the real world, aka my life in Houston, but I know once I get started with training again on Monday I'll feel more ready and energized for the coming fall!

In other news, I get my first paycheck on August 15th and have to save pretty much every dime and penny for rent and utilities until then.  But for now, I am dying to buy these off etsy.com once I finally get paid!

To go with my room's color scheme of navy and white--which is currently just white,

because my lack of paycheck has left me with little spending for decorations

I want a necklace with 3 pendants--California, Oregon, and Texas,

 the 3 states that have had the most impact on me so far in my life!

This picture of California, in navy, to go with my room's color scheme. 

 I love Texas so far, but I will always be a California girl at heart!

Just Call Me Miss Cooper

I can't believe I'm already moved into my new apartment in Houston and done with Teach for America Institute!  I was incredibly MIA this summer, and promise to be better at blogging about my life from here on out! I blame my lack of blogging on my average 3 hours of sleep a night, living in the dorms with 800 other TFA corps members, and overall just having an amazing and very time consuming Institute experience.

I met some pretty amazing people this summer, and got to teach some absolutely wonderful kids who I fell in love with immediately.  I taught 5th grade reading and math, and even though I only had my kids for 4 weeks, each and every one of them had such a huge impact on me as a teacher and as a person.  My class was really small--only 5 students--but Estephaniea, Joseph, Domingo, Alexis G, and Alexis S were the most amazing kids I could have asked for this summer, and I know they can do anything they put their minds to.  I just hope they left summer school knowing that about themselves!

I unfortunately am legally not allowed to post pictures of my students without parental permission, but here are a few pictures from my summer that sum up why I've loved living in Houston and working for Teach for America:

I got an amazing apartment with two awesome girls--Briana and Jennifer.  We love our new place, have an amazing location, and despite the fact that we can't figure out how to set up our internet or cable, we've still managed to keep ourselves extremely busy with post-Institute work, organizing our apartment, and making one too many phone calls to Comcast!

I'm still catching on up on the lack of sleep I got during Institute and have one too many things to get done before my summer trainings start up again, but teaching here in Houston couldn't feel more right.  I am 100% confident in the decision I made to move to a new city and start a new career, and even though I know it's only going to get harder, I'm so ready to take on the challenge of making sure that one day, every child will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education! You can officially call me Miss Cooper, or "Miss" as most of my students like to refer to me as.

Happy Father's Day!

So I've been a bit MIA since I started Teach for America Institute, but among the hours of lesson planning, coloring posters, and printing handouts, I need to take the time to tell the most important man in my life how much I love him...so Dad, Happy Father's Day!!

Here 10 of the things I love most about my amazing dad:

10) He's absolutely hilarious.  Not going to lie, I used to get embarrassed by his jokes when I was a bratty teenager, but now that I am older (and hopefully wiser), I have come to appreciate his awesome sense of humor. My friends all think he is hilarious and he tends to be the life of the party wherever he goes.

9) He has a ton of interests.  My dad loves to run, go to the gym, ride his motorcyle, play guitar, and of course, spend time with me and my mom.  On top of working, he makes time to do what he loves, and you can tell how passionate of a person he is by how many hobbies he has and how many things he is good at.

8) He gives amazing advice.  You name it, and he can help you figure out the situation.  My dad has a way of calming me down during stressful situations, reminding me of what's important in life, and giving me his honest opinion, and I can't thank him enough for all of the times he has helped me through life's stressful moments.  He is always the first person I call when I really need help figuring out a tough situation.

7.  He's incredibly supportive.  My dad's opinion means so much to me, and when I initially told him about Teach for America I could tell he was skeptical about me moving to a new city, less than 6 months after moving to Arlington.  But once he saw how passionate I was about Teach for America, he backed me up 100%.  My dad has supported me through so much in life--school, sports, friends, my internships, and now my current job.  I couldn't have accepted this job offer if it wasn't for his blessing, and I'm so thankful to have his constant support.

6.  He has the most contagious laugh in the world.  His "this is the funniest thing I've ever seen" laugh is rare, and only comes out during really funny television shows or when he's telling stories about his childhood, but when it does, it is literally contagious.  I actually have videos of it on my I-phone and watch it sometimes to get a good laugh or put me in a good mood.

5.  He's an incredibly hard worker.  He is dedicated to everything that he does, and never gives less than 110% on everything.  It seems like he hasn't stopped working since he was 16, but it's probably because he's so good at everything he does.  From working construction with my grandpa, to being a police officer, to being a polygraph examiner, to NCIS Special Agent in Charge, to a realtor for Coldwell Banker, my dad has excelled at each and every one of his jobs (I'm sure I'm leaving out quite a few), and he has taught me how much hard work really does pay off.

4. Family is so important to him.  My dad is always telling me stories about his siblings, his mom, and his dad, and it is obvious how much he cares about all of them.  I really admire how close my dad and his dad were, and I can see so many of the amazing traits that my grandpa had in my dad himself.  A day never goes by where my dad doesn't tell my mom and I how much he loves us, and he always makes me feel so special every time I am around him.  I know he would do anything for me, my mom, and his family.

3. He loves my friends.  I really appreciate that my dad really gets to know all of my friends, and pretty much every single one of my friends who has met my dad thinks he is the funniest and coolest dad to walk the planet.  When one of my best friends lost her dad to cancer a couple of years ago, he went above and beyond his duty as "Sarah's dad" and really showed her how much he was thinking of her and supporting her.  Knowing that my dad cares as much about my friends as I do means the world to me.

2.  He is an amazing care taker.  My dad is constantly making sure that my mom and I are healthy, have everything we need, and are happy.  Even when I don't ask for help, he knows when I need it, and he always steps in and and goes above his role as a father when I need him the most.

1.  He is me...as an adult...and a man.  In other words, I am literally my father's daughter.  From our intense personalities, to our appreciation of humor and sarcasm, and to our values, I am so proud to say that I see so much of my dad in me.  And, let's be real, we look at lot a like.  Except I failed to get any of his Portuguese coloring and he kind of left me hanging on the athletic ability genes...

I love you so much dad!  Thank you for being the most supportive, amazing, caring father in the entire world...I don't know what I would do without you! I am so lucky to have you in my life and I hope I make you as proud as you make me every day :)

The Countdown to Texas Begins!

I can't believe I only have 2 days left in San Diego before my mom and I start the drive to Houston! I've been so busy since I've been home that I've barely had a chance to soak up any of the amazing San Diego sun! Although I don't think I should be concerned about not getting enough sunlight in the months to come, seeing that it's currently almost 3 AM in Houston and still 77 degrees outside.

My parents and I just got back from a fun night of sushi, the Nike outlet, and gambling at Viejas Casino.  I got a pair of awesome new running shoes that I can't wait to try out, and am really hoping to get my running motivation back soon...although I have a feeling my long days at Institute aren't going to allow me much time or energy to exercise!

Here's to hoping my new pair of running shoes motivate me!

Home Sweet Home!

I'm finally back in San Diego, and nothing feels better than falling asleep in my bed at home!  I've had a great couple of days back at home so far, which have included shopping with my mom, catching up on long overdue phone dates with friends, and getting together with old friends! I spent most of today studying for the TExES exam which I have to pass in order to teach in Texas, and it's definitely reminding me of how much I dislike multiple choice tests! I ordered a book from Barnes and Noble to help me prepare for the exam, and my mom and I will have plenty of time in the car on our roadtrip to go over practice test questions, such as the one below that I did not know the correct answer to until today:

Which of the following technologies had the greatest impact on the environment and the geography of agriculture in the U.S. Great Plains?

A. The cotton gin

B. The steel plow 

C. The telegraph 

D. The prairie schooner

If you're wondering, the answer is B.  I guessed A, and I still don't know what a prairie schooner is.

Tomorrow will be a fun-filled day of friend time...I get to hang out with my college roommate and bestie Jackie during the day, and hang out with my best friends from middle/high school Sierra and Morgan at night! I love being able to come home to San Diego and reunite with old friends, and am so glad we've all kept in touch over the years, despite how different all of our paths have been.

I leave for Texas in 7 days and I'm absolutely terrified, anxious, excited, nervous, and eager all at once.  I'm so thankful that I already know where and what I'm teaching, but not knowing who I'll meet, where I'll live after Institute, and what to expect is definitely nerve wrecking.  Not to mention, I'm not the best test taker and pretty much only have one opportunity to pass the TExES exam...so not passing is not an option!

Knowing my luck, the first question on my test will ask what a prairie schooner is.  And when it does, I'll be glad I googled it.

Moving

Here's a brief look into what I plan on doing all day:

Moving might be one of my least favorite things ever.  But I think even more so right now because this is the fourth time I will have moved in the past year.  Oregon to California, California to DC, DC to Virginia, Virginia to Texas...crazy to think I will have lived in 5 different places in less than 365 days!

Baking Success!

I hope everyone at Kinkead's has a sweet tooth tomorrow, because I made these delicious mint chocolate chip cookies as a goodbye present for my last day! I'm pretty proud of how well they turned out!