New Teacher #382

This morning I got an email with the subject: "New Teacher #0382"
I took out my headphones, put my hair behind my ears, sat up straight and took a long deep breath.
this is an email I have been waiting for, sitting on gmail pressing refresh for, and now that I was in a public English lab I had to keep my composure.

I opened the email and read...



Dear Courtney,

Congratulations and bless you! I'm writing to tell you that I have
officially added you to the list of people I have steered toward
becoming teachers. My goal since 2000, as you know has been
to reach one thousand, and you just helped me get a little closer
to it. You are teacher #0382.

From the bottom of my heart and the top of my lungs I thank you
for the noble path you have chosen to follow. You make a difference.

Metaphorically yours,

Taylor Mali

"He who dares to teach must never cease to learn."
由ichard Henry Dann



I twirled out of my rolling chair, leaving every single belonging behind (including laptop, wallet, phone, everything...trusting my 'nobody steals here' hopes) and whisked out of the door. A mini YES YES YESSSSSS dance in the hall was followed by a chipper leap back into lab.

For those who don't know, Taylor Mali is a 4-time slam poet champion and retired teacher (He also stars in the movie SlamNation which is about slam poetry) not to mention a huge idol of mine. The man is amazing.

9 years ago he made a goal to create 1000 new teachers using poetry, persuasion, and perseverance and today I was chosen as his #382!!!!!

If you go to the website with his goal on it, it will say so far he has 382 teachers. (Im #382 woo woooooo yeaaa)

and you can read my entry under The Teachers link.

I am just so excited that I got an email from this man that has inspired me in so many ways and who I have really obsessed over haha

Taylor Mali's most famous and inspiring poem can be watched here on youtube.

and I highly recommend watching more of his stuff. He really is incredible.

Well, Teacher #382 has homework to do...

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HELP! early NYR prep

I decided what my 2010 new years resolution is today but I need your help...



Ive decided in 2010 I am going to stand up straight. Anybody who has ever seen me knows that I have a slouching problem. I know it was developed because of my desire to be shorter and not stick out but it has been YEARS since I have stood up straight.
so 2010 will be the year. The year I embrace my height and stand up straight

my only problem is that I KNOW I will only accomplish this goal with a rewards system and reminders. So. I need help. Any ideas on how I can reward progress and remind myself when I am forgetting throughout the day? or any helpful pointers on how to stand up straight?

it really is a foreign feeling to me. Its going to be HARD.



(ps- i updated last 5 books read. woo woo for updating something haha)
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First weekend

Last year for the first week of school we had an 80s dance. This year we were pretty stoked about our outfits...



The dance this year was the sweatiest and the most crowded experience of my life. We walked in, hadnt started dancing yet, and were already drenched in sweat. I also got the chance to meet up with one of my friend's from home that is now living 6 blocks from me!

Halfway through somebody pulled the fire alarm and we had to evacuate. 20 minutes later we had to stop the dance again because of people passing out haha. So it was a pretty awesome night...even though most of us never were alive in the 80s
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When you give a mouse a tandem...

We are currently working on Phase 3 of our prank which includes posting our confession of tandem kidnapping via the posting of facebook pictures...


The tandem though will not be returned until our ransom of a batch of homemade cookies is paid. Me and Blotts keep saying "ya know when you give a mouse a tandem he will need some cookies to go with it" (i think its funnier the way we say it haha)

we have been having fun riding it places and wondering if the owners will drive by and recognize it. We even had a neighbor ask "hey didnt I see you riding Honey's bicycle built for two yesterday?" haha
Its been really good at breaking up the stress of new syllabuses and realizing that "English Major" means 497 books a semester
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School Year's Eve

The first day of school is tomorrow. Most kids are laying out their clothes and sharpening pencils but we decided to blow off a few of those first day jitters...

We thought getting our adrenaline pumping, getting our mind on something else, and having some fun would get rid of our worries for the next day. In other words, a prank was in order.

The setup: our friend, Honey, moved back home leaving his tandem bike in the care of his friends. We filled Honey in on our plan to kidnap the tandem, a very precious possession, so he can call his friends up asking how taking care of his bike is going, seeing if 1. theyll be freaking out the bike has been stolen or 2. will try to cover it up from him until they find it
Phase one: tonight Blotts and I snuck out in our black clothing and casually rode the tandem away from its home...

Phase one: COMPLETE.
Tomorrow will involve Phase two: Honey calling up his friends and later that night Blotts and I posting a ransom note on their door.

...oh and the first day of school :)

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4th Semester

Its a strange thought that I will be starting my 4th semester of college next week. The last 2 years have flown by and its hard to live in the here and now. I made my goals for the school year tonight..one of them being to blog about my year. I'm determined to stick to it this time :)

Several things will be different from last year. Lots of friends are off on missions, some friends married, some friends transferred but also some hometown blood will be there including my most exciting change: my brother living in the same apartment comlex as me

I have been talking about going to USU with him for years now and I am SO excited it is finally happening. We are in the final hour countdown before we set off to tackle another year!!

and I fully plan on having a bouquet of sharpened pencils in my apartment Monday morning! Just to celebrate those first day of school jitters

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SupremeWeek ctd...

The rest of my proclaimed Supreme Week went wonderfully. So many Supreme things happened that I hadnt even planned on...


Tuesday - I had gotten my first parking ticket (errgg) for letting my meter go over 20 minutes. I went to pay it and after making casual conversation with the woman working she simply said "consider this a warning and go spend your $20 on something fun today" I skipped out and bought myself Cafe Rio

Wednesday - THE BIG DAY!!! A spur of the moment decision landed me at home on Wednesday! This was a much needed trip to have a break from my loner student realm Ive been existing in and to see my parents and my friends who I have been DYING to see. Paying tribute to my sister Kage, I decided to keep the entire trip a secret from everybody except my parents. The reactions were AWESOME and I took some footage here

Thursday - Spent with my mother. Thats all I have to say.

Friday - Friday morning began by going out to breakfast with my best friends from home. It was the first time we'd been together, all of us, since graduation and I had the most incredible omelet Ive ever had topped with asiago cheese. I mean c'mon! Could it get any better? Yea..just add in a midnight summer walk and feeling your stomach drop as you walk over the Route 59 bridge.

Saturday - Surprise! my friend The Brit came to visit our hometown for a few hours neither of us knowing the other would be there!! It was so great to be back with the girls I had spent so much of last summer with, even if just for a few hours.

Supreme Week Conclusion -
okay so I kind of cheated knowing that I was going home and would therefore have an amazing week but one thing that I got out of this week is that there are wonderful Supreme moments in every day, its just that this week I was looking for them. The difference your perspective makes on the quality of your day is remarkable. So I say thank you and goodbye to Supreme Week. Hello Supreme Life!!

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