Oh, Back to School! Back to School!

With my first day of school outfit hanging on my closet door and my backpack packed, I was far from springing out of bed this morning. A knot in my stomach grew and grew as I willed myself out of bed to be to my office on time. 

I love first days of school. Fall always brings a certain kind of zest and magic into my life that few other seasons do, except for Christmas. Christmas is the bomb dot com. Today was a very different first day of school for me. I don't actually start my student-y classes until tomorrow - Native American Lit - and today, well today was my first day teaching my very own class - ever. 

When I got to my office, I got that not so fresh feeling, you know, like the feeling one gets when missing the last step and crashing into the wall at the bottom of the stairs like an idiot. But the thing was, I had everything done. Syllabus, check. Copies of policies and homework, check. Note cards, check. I was all ready, but I was really not ready.

As the first few students trickled into LA 216, they looked more trepidatious than I felt, and after about two and a half long minutes of them staring expectantly at me, I started my first class - and it was amazing!

I don't know how many details I can share without infringing on the law or something, but I really like this whole teaching bit. I think it's really going to work out for me! Woot Woot!

Who's Long Tim?

Well, I've been gone for a while; it's true, check the dates. The past month or so, I haven't been able to articulate my thoughts on my experiences well enough to merit a post, but I'm feelin' some clarity tonight. First, the Top Ten Things I Did Whilst in Europe:

10. Met Alan Moore

9. Rode the Tube around London

8. Saw Avenue Q - quite literally the funniest musical EVER!

7. Stumbled upon my first Da Vinci painting

6. Got my very own hotel room in Paris three blocks from Notre Dame

5. Tried every new food I possibly could

4. Found out about standardized health care

3. Learned that taking days for myself and sightseeing without anyone else is a great thing to do

2. Went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey

1. I freaking went to Europe, and that is awesome!

Second. I live in Flagstaff now. Crazy, right? Oh, nay nay. Crazy, my friend, is having keys to my office and having a weekly schedule that includes teaching English 1050 Monday through Thursday at 10:20 in Room 216. Crazy is paying $600 dollars a semester for my Master's degree.

The point is, I love being here. I'm totally out of my comfort zone, but I have found my people who do not take the place of my other people, but help me to deal with living in a new state. I'm in the right spot in my life - geographically, chronologically, emotionally, intellectually, and academically - but that's not saying I won't continue to try to improve.

The one thing, dear analytical reader, that is missing from my list is spirituality. This past year has been a difficult for my membership in the church, but I haven't ever doubted that my membership is right and a good thing; I've just had questions, and frankly, I've gotten lazy.

I've come to the realization, once again, that life is totally about balance and I've let certain aspects of my life get out balance, most of which has been my connection with God and spirituality. I was trying to distance myself from the things I don't like about going to church or interacting with members of the church, and I began to turn my back on God.

But, my relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit, and my membership in the church has nothing to do with nuisances of church culture or other members. I've learned, through many sources, that I must be Sarah La Rue and that my religious affiliations are through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that my intellectual pursuits help me understand the world and humanity better and more compassionately, that I am an English teacher who loves comic books, Batman, and graphic novels, that I am, always have been, and always been an intellectual and a feminist, and that how I must live is through a balanced existence of all that I am.