College Kid to Baby Professional-How Your Life Will Change!

I'm kinda envious right now, kids. I've been Facebook creeping a bunch of you who haven't graduated college yet ...and I'm jealous.

When I was in your shoes just a few months ago, man, I was eager to be DONE. Give me that Bachelor's in Spanish and let me get OUT.

But as a young, first-year teacher, I miss the days when I was surrounded by other young early 20's folk instead of being one of the four teachers at my school under the age of 40. It's hard to make friends just because, well, you aren't surrounded by 40,000 students anymore or 500 clubs to meet people who like the same stuff you like.

Life changes, folks. Lemme tell you how life jumps from being a college kid to a baby professional. And since I'm a Spanish teacher and such...might as well put the headings en espanol.


Amigos. College rocked. Friends that after an international student ministry service event, would drag you to Waffle House at 2 AM as you walk down Tennessee Street, terrified of the very wasted people you see? Or that time they kidnapped you and threw you in Westcot Fountain in February temperatures for your 20th birthday?! And the best part? You could meet these said friends anywhere-campus social events, classes, volunteer shindings, at 12 AM at Breakfast for a Buck, whatevs.

When you graduate, your pals graduate..and move away from you. You get bored and lonely sometimes. Yeah, you cooooulld make new amigos in your workplace...but in the professional world, you don't really associate with co-workers outside of work that much. Yeah. Lamesauce!

Aventuras. When you're in college, you have time for adventures-and long ones at that! It's easy to do so if you're smart about it! When else in my life would I get to serve God as a student missionary in the rural Andes, a children's malnutrition center in Guatemala, serving Latino immigrants in Texas, or as a summer camp counselor??? In college....du'oy!!!!!

Enjoy this time. Cuz when you graduate, you'll have a full-time job to worry about, a family, and other big kid responsibilities. God is awesome and I know that He'll totes take me to other cool places! But...your choices get waay more limited.

Pasion. Now's the time to figure out your passion! Join a club. Go off somewhere cool for a summer. You'll find out what you're passionate about. For me, I volunteered to teach ESL at FSU for three semesters, which showed me how much I cared about helping people learn English and adapt to life in this country. I led an international student ministry for two years, which showed me that I had a burden for people who were new to the US adjust to life here and have a better life for themselves and their families. I worked for a foreign language lab for a semester, which showed me that I nerd out over teaching Spanish.

Yeah, find out your passions in college. Cuz afterword..well..it's kinda too late.

And this blog could probably use a better way to end, but it's 10 PM and I'm a working professional, not a college kid anymore. So it's too late. I gotta go.

 

 

 



                                                   

 

 

Hello, My Name is Goose Goose

A random responsibility I have at my school is to babysit the pre-school kiddos while their teachers get a well-deserved lunch break during the school's lunch hour! I love these little darlings-other than my middle schoolers, they are my favorite age group to teach.

They have also made me think quite philosophically.

One day as I was attempting to eat my salad while cleaning up boo-boo's, spilled apples, and other daily adventures, two giggling girls look at me and squeal  the following nugget of wisdom:

"YOU  ARE GOOSE GOOSE!" Say what?

"What is goose goose?" I question their idea.

"YOU!" they retort as one of them almost knocked over her chocolate milk due to her amusement.

"Um, friends, last time I checked they call me Ms. Caroline," I replied in a goofy voice.

"You're not Ms. Caroline! You're Ms. Goose Goose!!!!" And so the search for my identity begins.

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School was out for the day, and that meant I could finaaaallly check Facebook when I got home to my apartment-I'm kinda an addict. I posted what I THOUGHT was a witty status. Like away, folks!

But it wasn't. No one liked my status-except for the people like your mom who are SUPPOSED to.. I felt like an unpopular loser and shamefully took my status down. Hmph.

Why did this matter so much to me? It's Facebook, for crying aloud.

I guess it's more than that for me. It tells me who and how many people like me in my mind-based on who likes my stuff. And I guess how many people like me can easily affect how much I like ME each day.

But that's not the only thing I do. I list EVERY job or internship I've ever had up there, thinking maybe that I'm somehow more valuable if I can tell you about the two jobs I have right now as a Spanish/ESL teacher or that you'll think I'm well-traveled and a good Christ follower because of my student missionary terms in Peru, Guatemala and Texas or my summer camp stunt my junior year of high school.

I hope that the fact that I have 1,064 Facebook friends makes up for the month I sat alone at lunch my freshman year of high school or better about people I've felt rejected by.

And I worry that if I don't get tagged in at least one picture every week, people will think I'm boring.

Since different people and amounts of people like my stuff, I guess if I'm not careful how much I like myself changes to match that......

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Sure enough, my name has changed. Good thing "Goose Goose" was not how I defined myself, because I am now "Mister." Mister? Really?! I asked 'em why I'm "Mister" and they said it's "because you are a boy." Great, do I look like a boy?!

(We had a talk about how that wasn't always a nice thing to tell someone before one of them spilled applesauce all over the table.....)

But once again, the pre-schoolers have a lot of wisdom without meaning to. You see, what people will call you will constantly change. Last week I was Goose Goose, now they call me "Mister." If I define my identity by what people may call me, it will change every week.

I need an unchangeable identity.

My name isn't Goose Goose. And it sure ain't Mister. My identity is this: I belong to God and I'm saved by His grace. Cuz that will never change, no mister, not evah. And it sure doesn't depend on Facebook likes.

 

FLYING GOOSE GOOSE GINGER!!!!!!!