Times are a-changin

Times are a-changin

I have so much to say about so many different things I figured id just write a blog about it all. Don't expect this to be coherent or have any kind of flow at all. There has been a lot going on with the ultimate team, with my house, with my teaching, and with my life in general. Some things are falling apart and some things are coming together. I guess everything cant go right at the same time right?

The ultimate team has been in a way falling apart this semester. We’re having a team meeting tonight which will hopefully help figure some things out. I would say the A team guys average about 50% attendance. Things are just different than they have been in the past. For the last two years there has been a complete sense of community and even family among the team members. I know that in the past guys would’ve fought for each other, not just on the field but off it to. We have all been best friends, partied together, hung out, went on trips, ate dinner together, even lived together in a lot of cases. This year that same love of the team and of our teammates is nonexistent. We have struggled to keep freshmen on the team because we are struggling to have fun with the team. I don't blame people for not staying when I myself am not even having fun with the sport. The team is so divided into factions and cliques this year. Friendships that were there in the past have deteriorated into acquaintanceships? If that's a word. People are too busy, care more about too many other things, and don't care enough about the team.

The ultimate team will always be the first thing I remember about my time in college. The four years spent working hard to get to a goal that we set for ourselves. I still have that goal for our team and I still have hope that we can reach it. But in order to get there we need to get back to our roots. We’ve always been a really athletic and skilled team, but so is every good team in the country. The thing that has set us apart in the past was the chemistry, love, and willingness to die on the field for our teammates. I've never worried about getting injured or being too sore to go to class on Monday or not finishing an assignment because I was gone all weekend. I knew being on the team was worth all those sacrifices because I loved the guys on the team. I still feel that way and I hope that everyone else can get back to that too. I would sacrifice almost anything for this team. We’ve all already made huge sacrifices, maybe some have given too much of themselves and can’t give anymore but I know that I have more to give. I have eight or nine more months to be a wizard and in that time I want to see us succeed more than we ever have. To have that success on the field we need to become a family again off the field.


Next up: The house. The dynamics of our house have changed a ton this year also. That’s not to say that the house hasn’t been a blast all year, at least for me. I love my roommates and have had a great time with them this year. I consider all five guys I live with to be very good friends of mine and would drop everything if they were in a moment of need. Some stuff has happened this semester that has changed the feelings in the house. I guess it’s a lot of the same stuff that is going on with the team so ill try not to be redundant. I guess I just wish the house could all spend more time together and have as much fun with all of us as we used to. For the last two years, I have imagined that these would be the guys that would stand in my wedding right next to me as I made the big mistake…haaaaa. After college these are the guys I will still be close to. Go to Colts games with. Get together for a drink every Thursday night. Call up when I have a bad day. Hopefully that's how this goes.

Now to stop being a downer. I started going into the schools this week. Im observing/participating with two eighth grade prealgebra classes. Other than having to wake up at 615 every morning, I absolutely love it. I know for sure that teaching is what I want to do. My kids misbehave, are obnoxious, and don't understand a lot of stuff, but I love them. Theyre fun to be around. Even when they are out of control I still enjoy being in the classroom.

I've known for a while now that I wanted to teach and I knew that when I got into the classroom id enjoy it. I didn't know how I would respond to the whole part of being a role model and having to make a difference in kids lives. I kinda thought I would be the kind of teacher who would go to class and leave and not take my work home with me or think about my kids all that much when I left. Sounds bad when I put it like that haha. After being in the class with these kids I already know that I want to make a difference. Seeing them make the same mistakes that I made or that my friends made when we were their age makes me want to help them to not make those mistakes. There’s one kid in particular in my second period class that is, well lets just call him a classroom management problem. He gets great grades and is really not a bad kid at all, he just makes trouble in the class. He is in that spot where he thinks its cool to be disrespectful and to cause problems. He is going to grow up and realize that he shouldve acted differently and that he shouldve learned what he is supposed to be learning. I want to help him realize that and hopefully change his course that he is on. That is just one example that has already happened in only three days. I cannot wait to have my own classroom and be a teacher.


I guess that's about it for now. My life is going well all around I suppose. Im awfully busy with school and work and Frisbee and homework but its okay because I enjoy most of it. Im looking forward to being home on Friday since I haven’t been in a very long time. Too long. But it will be nice to be home for a night before I have to get up and go to our tournament which we will win. Sorry this ones so long, just a lot going on all at once. Its been kind of overwhelming and it feels good to get it out to the world even if no one reads it.