i'm going back to school in three weeks too. as a student, which has got to be a lot easier than teaching, but still, school = scary.

it's got to take a whole lot of courage and self-awareness and down-to-earthiness to go into teaching. you have all that, plus, you rock.

college campuses and dieting. GRAGUHUGHHGH. their twisted relationship makes me want to throw large breakable objects from a very high roof. i'll smear myself in chocolate with you if they start dieting on you, how about that?

xox,
pav

First - Deep breaths. Lots of them.

You wouldn't have been asked to teach if they didn't think you were qualified.

All the students will care about is their grade - so just spell out what they need to do to get that almighty "A" in your class and you'll be fine.

You aren't alone, carrie - keep reaching out both in realtime and here. Keep connecting and you'll get through. Live one moment at a time.

And breathe.

We're here for you. 8-)

Oh, and mmmmm... cookies.

Especially enjoy one for me, too.

Hey Carrie,
I live near enough to Baltimore (you know they call it Charm City, right?) to drive up once in a while. The aquarium there is amazing and I love to walk through it. If you'd like to get together sometime it would be great to meet you in real life. You know my email : )

Keep venting! Put your fears before you and face them.
You have a plan and you also know that support is here for you. Do not underestimate the value of blog friends. You aren't alone no matter what.
Home is within....try to remember that. You'll have Aria. Bring some of your home smells with you to your new place. Really. Steal a something that you might hold onto when you feel lonely. Take the time to check out the night sky and give mom and dad a call to make sure your looking at the same bright moon.[never too old to stay connected]
Learn to ask for miracles and learn to see them all around you. You CAN do this. You will be safe.
You are human,a student and a teacher, and you'll be meeting some very interesting students who may teach you how to teach and in time it'll all fee natural....if you allow it. So, allow it.
Don't be afraid!
Oh, carry a small wand and perhaps a snack. : )
/*

I agree with previous posts. They wouldn't have asked you if you weren't qualified and no, they're not going to find out you're a big faker because you're not.

Thanks for checking in Carrie. I really appreciate it.

Faith

Hey Carrie --

You are going to ROCK this job. Your future students are lucky. You have an inherent and beautiful talent for writing that cries out to be shared.

It's going to be amazing. Look at all you've accomplished already. You've saved your own life, for goodness sake. Give yourself credit. . . you can do anything. And Aria will be with you. It's going to be GREAT.

Pav,

I'm going back as both- the teaching is financing most of my degree. If you do smear yourself in chocolate, can we meet and take matching pictures? That would be sweet!

Jeanne,

I ended up wearing as much of the batter as I ended up baking. It was awful- on my face, in my hair, all over the kitchen counter, the bottom of the oven, the floor. Actually, in retrospect, it was hilarious, but the cleaning was a pain! But I did enjoy a cookie about an hour ago in your honor. They're yummy- double espresso chocolate.

Jane,

You're so sweet! I'd love to meet you in person. Maybe we could arrainge something- my mom will be with me the first week to help me get settled in. I loved the Science Center- I love playing with all of the exhibits. So that could be fun. And I will never ever forget your email. ;)

Mary,

I went to Costco and bought energy bars in bulk. And I have candles galore, as well as stuffed animals. Plus a real live kitty. She hogged my bed last night, but she's so freaking cute I couldn't kick her out.

Have wand, will travel.

Faith and Sarah,

I understand that I'm qualified- it's just the formal learning of writing that I don't have. How do I teach things that I just sort of absorbed my osmosis?

My mom had the brilliant and obvious answer: ask the program director how to do a couple of the things you're unsure of.

::shakes head::

Thank you THANK YOU for all of your support. You keep me sane. Literally. You should have seen me before this blog.

I can relate to this--so much of anxiety is worry about the unknown. Once you slip into the new routine, you'll see you can ace it.

As for teaching critical analysis, it seems ephemeral, but then again, you already do much of that here on your blog; you review articles and point out the biases and logic flaws. Your students will appreciate that.

From my own brief teaching experience I also found it helpful to focus at first on the proactive students to get the discussion rolling. Once the energy picks up, other students join in.

And oh, cookies! Always end with cookies.

What kind of living quarters/kitchen are you going to have available?

I look to this blog for awesome lunch ideas:
http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/

She comes up with the most creative and adorable food for a bento box. If you eat meat and dairy, it's pretty easy to modify things as you like; we're vegetarian here, but not for health reasons.

One of the things I always kept in my office at assorted jobs is a stash of backup meals in case I had no time to grab something on the way out. Progresso soups were a staple, as were snack cakes, a box of Hershey bars (these are great to have on hand when you need to offer comfort to someone, too!), a can of Pringles, and two or three prepackaged drinks (soda can, bottle of juice). The best thing I had on hand, though, was a package of nuts of some kind, usually almonds--they're so filling, and so yummy :)

You will be amazing, trust in yourself darlin!
Hold on to all of your hard work and know that we are always here for you when you feel the pain of anything!!!
I'm so down for the chocolate diet to!!! Damn chocolate peanut butter cups!!!!!
xoxo Lauren

I am SO not worried about you, Carrie. You're light years ahead of where I was at your age. You rock!

And I'm envious of your potential lunch date with Jane, whose email I will never ever forget, either. :-)

As a student, I never wanted someone with a boatload of credentials as much as I wanted someone who could CONNECT with my mind.

Those people are born, not made. Lucky, lucky you.

And gal darn it, humor will get you places. You may end up dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock, but you know, I think it beats being mopey and on a diet, any day.

Thinkin of ya, babes.

Cheers to the ventures life presents us!~ :)