The Adventure Led Me Here

                Silence and I have never been the best of friends.                 In the hypothetical event that the ability to incessantly ramble was an Olympic sport, I would win all of the gold medals in one unnecessarily long speech.                 I process information verbally, and I usually speak two volume levels above what is probably needed. If you’ve ever had the *privilege* of grocery shopping with me, you know that I provide an enthusiastic running commentary about each and every food item. In an effort to prove to someone that I could be quiet for an extended period of time, I tried to go as long as possible without talking.                 It was an agonizing ten minutes.                 I love conversations, connecting, the sharing of ideas. Growing up in a loud, boisterous family, there was always somebody singing, yodeling, supplying random animal noises, or chattering at any given moment. Silence or the absence of noise, was strange, uncomfortable, and sti

                2015 was like eating a bag of mystery flavored Skittles: I never quite knew what was going to happen next.                 An enigma, a paradox, 2015 was full of many moments both wonderful and challenging.                 It was a year of connection, a year of growth.                 The first few months passed in a flurry as I finished up grad school and my student teaching. I had the opportunity to complete one of the most meaningful projects of my educational experience that examined equity in the education system for CLD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) students. During my student teaching, I had the chance to learn from some amazing teachers not just about education, but also about life.                 Two particular conversations are etched in my mind. The first one occurred when I was asking a teacher how he would handle a situation that had just occurred in the classroom. His immediate response was, “The first thing I always remind myself when