The adventures of "T-DAWG"

Wow what a week it was...now to reflect on it. 

Stuck in traffic selfie!!

 National Convention did not go as I had imagined it would, now everything did not go wrong, it just did not go as I had planned in my head which in this cases was a good thing. Because I am going to  be honest I had a large fear that the tires of my van were going to fall off and roll on by us...and thankfully that did not happen I also had imagined students full of energy and out of control..thankfully this was also an irrational fear.






Now lets not dwell on what ifs but rather what did happen! 

Takin Names and Makin Friends

The bonding, oh was there bonding and not lets talk over dinner bonding but straight up I was locked in a van driving seven students 12 hours bonding. And our bonding didn't end when we unloaded in Louisville, we spent time wondering around convention together, ate meals together, and even had unwinding x-box time together. The bonding I was able to have with these students is something I am going to rely on when I get into the classroom. It was such a great feeling when the students expressed how excited they were for January to come and for me to join them! I know I have a few kiddos on my side to stick up for me and back me up when I get in front of the room.

First session, we got front row seats! 

Oh the books! Oh the resources I was able to pick up through out the career fair. Now it's pretty sad when you get excited about a free book you realize that BAM adulthood has struck. I was so surprised with how helpful companies are (shout out to Lincoln Electric for the free book and CD's!) 

The social media...I never really used instagram all that much, but after last week WOW do I have a lot on there now! So be sure to check it out because there are a lot...and I mean A LOT of pictures of the wild adventures I had.

I could go on and on about all the great things that happened but I'm not gonna ramble on...so I'll touch on some of the highlights of the trip

1.) The Legend of T-DAWG

Look at those hats, we are ready for the Derby!

  Now this is a great story. The kiddos didn't know what to call me because  apparently Telesz is a hard name to pronounce so they asked what to call me I told them Ms. T was acceptable so that is what we started the day off with. Well as the hours of driving went on my van driving skills were pretty minimal but with the support and enthusiasm of my students to increase my confidence of driving T-DAWG came out and some how it stuck. Now you may be worrying about the respect issue, we got that covered its Ms. T-DAWG when I am teaching.

River Boat Ride

2.)  Halloween
 This was my night to shine, Mr.Honeycutt took half of the kids to a haunted house and I stuck back at the hotel with those who didn't want to go. This was my chance to show what I was made of..there were a few times that I felt unsure and afraid but we made it through the night with minimal problems. I also had the chance to show the students that I am a friend but not a peer, I got the chance to stress to them my place. I wanted them to feel comfortable to approach me with all kinds of things yet to keep very personal things to themselves. There were a few times where I had to step back and say "Hey I am a teacher, not your peer, I want to be here for you and to help you solve your problems and help you out but I don't want to hear about the things you do on the weekend or the school gossip" I think the kids have a better understanding now with my place and where I stand and I know that since there is such a small age gap at times this line is going to be difficult in the end. But after this trip I now have a better skill set on how to handle those over sharers and how to keep the line between peer and friend clear. 

Gettin Ready to head home; my Face says it all

3.) The ride home
 The ride home didn't take us 12 hours thankfully it only ended up being like 8 which is a lot better. My confidence with driving had also improved ten fold, which is now something I can add to the list of things I can do! I also had the "cool van" my kiddos recruited two new students to ride with us home and I really enjoyed getting to know these additional students as well. Now on the way home Mr.Honeycutt left us in the dust, so I had the chance to use my navigational skills and rely on my students to help us get home in one piece. I also had the chance to decide when we would stop for bathroom breaks and when I needed to tell them to hold on and we would stop soon (which was a stretch at times).

Over all National Convention was amazing and I wouldn't change anything expect for maybe the weather on the way home (my car was covered in snow). I had a blast at the sessions, walking around convention, participating in quiz bowl ( WE GOT 2nd!!!) and having the chance to just sit and unwind and play video games with the kiddos. I can't wait to have the chance to take my own chapter to National Convention and I have made this life goal...that one day I will be up there on that stage whether it be a National Officer or a National Star, one day I will be up there standing proud next to my student!

Thank you Mr. Honeycutt for giving me the chance to interact with your officers and students and for having faith in my abilities as a teacher candidate and giving me the opportunity to see what being an adviser is all about. Now there are a great many pictures that I have, I'll only share a few, but you can check out more on my instagram account and twitter!