Honest Scrap Award.

I received this from StephTheBookworm, so I am continuing on. I have to list ten honest things about myself and then pass it along to other bloggers!

1. When I was younger, I really like reading a lot of old, historical type novels, like The Little House on the Prairie. I was obsessed with pioneer life and living in the country. It’s no wonder that of the American Girl Dolls, I owned Kirsten, the one who lived in the country. I think this helped inspire my history degree.

2. I graduated from college in April 2007 with two bachelor’s degrees. One was in English and the other in history. In addition, I earned a minor in Social Studies, as well as earning my Michigan teaching certification for grades 6-12. Unfortunately, I’m not teaching at the moment as there are virtually no teaching jobs in Michigan.

3. I love high heels. I own quite a few pairs and wore them almost every day when I was teaching. I used to tell my students it was so they could hear the authoritative clicking as I was walking around their desks, but really, I just love them. I am still in search of a cute pair of purple heels, but I’m not giving up yet.

4. I have played the trumpet since I was 11 and I absolutely love it. I’m not an incredibly awesome player, but I am pretty good. I play every Tuesday night with Matt for a community band in the area run by our old high school band teacher. With all that being said, I am pretty tone deaf and can’t carry a tune to save my life.

5. I like to own the books I read. There is something about having them right there whenever I want them that appeals to me. However, this causes problems because I currently have too many for the space I have and they get rather expensive.

6. I collect bookmarks. I like unique and original designs, but I also own a lot of commercial type ones based off of favorite book series. I probably own something like 70-80 bookmarks, and yes, I have used all of them. I like picking out a bookmark to match the book I am reading. Sound insane? Probably.

7. I have only been pulled over once in the eight years I have been driving solo. It was when I was 16 and running late to school. Even when I cried the officer still gave me the full ticket (he wasn’t a nice guy). I have had a perfectly clean record since then.

8. I love dogs and cats. Growing up, my family has had 3 yellow labs. The first dog we had, Sandy, died when I was in fifth grade and it was my first experience dealing with death. Our second lab, Shelby, was with us for ten years. She ended up getting cancer and we had to put her down when I was a senior in college. Our third lab, Sadie, is quite honestly the biggest personality of the bunch and she just turned 3. I can’t wait to have a big house so I can have labs. Matt has a cat, Hemi, who I will be living with after the wedding. She is super cute and I can’t wait to make her pose for pictures with books.

9. I love to write. I’ve entered the 3-Day Novel Contest a few times, as well as National Novel Writing Month. Of those, I’ve only finished 2 novels and honestly, they’re horrible. I’m working on a new novel now (young adult) with hopes of finishing it and reworking it. I love to write and hope I can make a future out of my work. I kind of consider my blog practice. Any writing helps!

10. I love music and probably own too much of it to really listen to it all. Some of my favorite bands/musicians include: Switchfoot, Disturbed, The Juliana Theory, In This Moment, Nightwish, Muse, Within Temptation, Josh Groban, Adele, August Burns Red, Blue October, Enya, Linkin Park, Dragonforce, Stars, Fall Out Boy, Michael Buble, HIM, Norah Jones, Straylight Run, Kelly Clarkson, Plumb, Ronnie Day, Silversun Pickups, Seether, and about 50 million others.

I’ll be tagging bloggers in comments! Or you may steal if you so wish!

Background on the Writer.

I’m not a certified book expert, if there is such a thing. Instead, I am a normal person with an abnormal obsession with literature. Although, my normalcy might be contested by a few certain people close to me.

I say this in good humor, but I do need to lay out my background for those of you who may be asking, what does this chick really know about literature?

I grew up in suburban metro Detroit. As a kid, I remember both of my parents reading fairly often. My dad read more then as his job as become more stressful over the years and he lacks free time. My mom still reads like a fiend, but we have very differing tastes. She reads a lot of romance, and while I do love a break from reality and a happily ever after, I like to read a variety. But she does offer some good suggestions and one of my favorite series (The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon) is one that she recommended.

As a kid, my mom was always very supportive of my reading. I didn’t lack for want of books and she was always encouraging. I think the only time she ever got mad at me was when I wouldn’t go outside and play instead. I hear stories of parents who aren’t so supportive of their children’s reading habits and it breaks my heart. I was very fortunate.

When I went to college, I knew that I wanted to do something in connection to English. English was always my favorite subject in school, with history being a close second. I threw around the idea of going into publishing before eventually settling on education. I figured that since so many of my English teachers were so instrumental in my love of words, that I could also pass that love on.

I ended up at Michigan State University in the fall of 2003 with my major declared in English. Since I went to MSU with 12 Advanced Placement credits, I decided to declare History as my second major in the fall of that first year. This was an extremely full load and after that first semester, I was always taking at least 19 credits a semester. And I did love it.

I was accepted into the MSU College of Education the spring of my sophomore year at school. So, in addition to my classes for English and history I was also responsible for taking on the credit requirements for my education classes.

And I loved my education classes. I was able to go into classrooms in the Lansing area and begin working with students at the secondary level. I was always surprised by how anti-book so many of those students seemed to be. Many regions of the Lansing area are low-income. Students would come in without showering, with empty stomachs, and incomplete homework. It seemed, from my perspective, that they just didn’t value literature, perhaps because they did not have a support system at home.

I began volunteering at one of the elementary schools in Lansing. I tutored students in the first and second grade in reading. For 2 hours a week, I sat down with these kids and read with them. We read Dr. Seuss, the Berenstain Bears, and everything in between. I think it was in those sessions that I realized that the value of literacy has become very low.
I ended up finishing my student teaching in one of the biggest districts in the state of Michigan. I loved being in front of my students and helping them find book choices. I tried then to stress my own love of literature. The school I was working in did a “stop, drop, and read” program three times a week where the teachers also read with their students. I loved that time of day, when I was reading what I loved and so were the students.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to land a long-term substitute teaching position in a district north of where I live. While I was teaching history, I still stressed reading. I also taught a section of a new study skills class where reading was part of the curriculum. Those kids and I fought tooth and nail over their reading, but once they learned that they could read what they loved they read.

This year I was not so fortunate and I currently don’t have a teaching job. Instead, I am working for the city I live in doing a job that I really love. I’m also getting married to Matt, who I have been dating for over seven years, on December 26 of this year.

I have a lot of challenges ahead of me this coming year. In between looking for a full-time job and planning a wedding, I am taking on this challenge. Not just because it’s something to do, but because I think it’s important. I can think of no better challenge for myself than to read these works and teach.

I suppose that’s me in a nutshell. As always, if there are any questions feel free to ask!