Summer 2010 Preview

Trafton B.

June 15, 2010 - 8:09 PM

I'm going to keep this short because I need to get outside to enjoy the sunshine, which is finally outside and, dare I say, looks as if it's going to stay for a while. Summer has finally come to Eugene and, of course, it peaks out when I have to leave.

So far, though, I have been able to play a round of disc golf, toss the Frisbee outside the Library [emphasis on the outside rather than inside of the Library], and we even moved our couches outside to create an outdoor living room. Clever, I know, but really we're just moving our furniture one step closer to the sidewalk where we eventually will slap a "FREE" sign on them and wait for some lucky student to swipe them up and give them a new home.

This summer, my plans are to move back home to the California Bay Area, San Mateo to be exact. I'll be living at home with my parents (yahoo for home cooked meals!) and commuting south to Redwood City to teach summer school. Those, of you that have been keeping track of the blog, are probably asking yourselves, ‘I wonder how he's commuting. Is he riding his bicycle still?'

Well, my friends, kudos to you for thinking about active transportation, and my answer to you is........YOU BET I AM!!

I'm actually really excited because I have the privilege to ride the train and bike to work every day. Now that I think about it, I'm really excited for so many reasons.

I'm excited to start teaching again. I'm excited to see my students and advisees from last year and see how they've matured (or not). I'm excited to put the skills I've learned this year in the ELP to use, and I'm excited to teach some my teammates lessons.

I'm excited that I won't be taking classes for a little while. I'm still going to be in a classroom, but I'm excited to not be a student for a few months. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to volunteer as a teacher's assistant for my family's friend's speech class at Stanford University, which I'm obviously excited about.

I'm excited to be home, to be with my family and to be with my old high school friends. And I'm excited because we're starting a bowling team! Don't laugh at us, you're just jealous.

Most of all, though, I'm excited to leave Eugene for two months. Don't read into that too quickly, let me explain. As I've found in the past, it's always hard to leave a place that means so much to you and hold such vivid memories, but it's a bitter sweet departure. You have to leave that place in order to return, and coming back to see all you friends and relive those memories is one of the best feelings in the world.

You have to leave in order to return, and I can't wait to come back!