I always wondered what teachers did during the summer...

I am completely happy with my decision to do Teach For America. I think somewhere in between the endless stress and the lack of sleep this year I found the joy in doing something that I actually wanted to do. At least, it's what I want to do now, and perhaps not ever again after this next year... we'll see. It should be no surprise then, that while on this two year teaching tour you often discuss and think about all the other things on life's to-do list. For me it happened more and more once I realized I could start making use of my savings account, which had held less than $100 for its recent life through high school and college. But maybe it's just characteristic of the college graduate to actually make plans to go out and do the things they have always wanted to do. Whether or not the TFA experience has had a hand in it, it has been invigorating to cross things off that list. At the very least, the TFA experience allows me to make ridiculous plans like go hiking for 25 days.

And unless I have another crazy expedition planned by the time next summer rolls around, I will for sure be getting myself a summer job. Frankly, I could not comprehend the level of boredom I would reach alone in Oakland. I had thought that I would use each day to lesson plan for next year and figure out how the hell I'm going to teach Precalculus, but anyone who really knows me would know before reading the end of this sentence that I haven't done any of it. I even used my lesson planning time to start working out consistently - and you know conditions are dire when I choose to work out instead. My mental excuses for the past few weeks have been that I deserve a break from lesson planning and that I still have plenty of time to do it this summer. Classic procrastination. And yet even when I drove up to Seattle this past week I made sure to bring all the high school math textbooks - just in case I get the urge to lesson plan. We both know it's not going to happen though, and my awareness of it all just makes it worse. Even so, it's the thought that counts, right?

Besides, my brain is kind of preoccupied with all the plans for my hiking trip. In anticipation, all I find myself doing is making lists. I think I've made about 10 packing lists, all pretty much the same; I think it's therapeutic, even if I am literally copying the list from one piece of paper to another. Needless to say, I think I have everything accounted for by now. I've got one final whirlwind day of errands to run tomorrow for supplies, and then it's off to the trail on Monday. My stuffed pack weighed in today at 32 pounds, which is a lot lighter than I was expecting, so I'm super pumped. My hiking partner hasn't packed hers full yet, so it's not official just yet. As of right now, we have 24 hours to compress our lives into a sack under 40 pounds. Let me clarify that - a very expensive sack. I anticipate I will have quite a bit to talk about 275 miles later, and pictures too.

Well, here's to me doing something crazy. Cheers.