One minute, I went to bed stoked that I had FINALLY finished the first year of a 2-year hell known as "Graduate School" and had earned the covetous A's, thus bringing my overall GPA to a higher average than I had my entire undergraduate career at BGSU.
The next minute, I woke up with no study requirements, no classes to teach, no emails from professors flooding my inbox with work requests. I found myself in a precarious position of not having a steady M-F, 9-5 job, and no schoolwork to complete for the first time since... 2004, or the summer before my junior year of high school. Yes, it's true, I have been doing the 9-month school year, 3-month 40-hour work week summer for the last 7 years. Of those years, the last 4-5 years have been filled with college, then a summer of Leadership Training in Estes Park, Colorado and a 40-hour work week at the YMCA of the Rockies in Food Service. I haven't spent a summer in Ohio since 2006, the summer after I graduated high school, when I still worked in the Games Dept. at Kings Island.
But that all has changed. I can't imagine that God is a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but I can very much picture him saying, "And now, it's time for something a little different." Not only am I spending a summer in Ohio for the first time in nearly 5 years, but I'm spending my summer in somewhat unfamiliar territory to me: Northeast Ohio. I've never actually claimed to LIVE in the same town where I go to school, even if my residential address has been in the town for 9 months of the year. But in August of this year, I can say that I have lived in Kent for 1 complete year. A completely new and unfamiliar experience for me.
Of what, exactly, does my summer consist? I'm still figuring that one out, but there are few details I do have nailed down right now, and some things of my own I'd like to do.
Currently, I have 4 different jobs. 1 is actual employment, the other 3 are considered "self-employed." This is going to make paying taxes to the government a little more complicated and interesting than normal, for sure (if you're interested in those kinds of things). Here they are:
May 22 - August 20: Kent State University School of Music: Music Education Dept.
Net Income: $990, before taxes
I'll be cataloguing new and old materials for the new Music Education Resource Center, updating listservs, updating/re-writing the Handbook for Music Education, preparing observation schedules for Fall 2011, working on syllabi for Fall 2011 classes, and other various projects they come up with (and they will, believe me, they will).
June 1 - the future: Sound Board Music, Instrumental & Keyboard Instructor
Net Income: depends on the # of students I accrue; $30/month/student is the rate for lessons
Currently, the owner has it set up that I will be accepting violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, alto/tenor saxophone, and elementary/intermediate piano/keyboard students.
This job I will be able to keep going through the next school year. Just over in Stow, it will be a nice short drive, which is perfect. I generally would charge $18-$20/lesson (which ends up being ~$75/month/student), which means I'm making less than teaching on my own here, however, this man is finding the students and scheduling them for me. Otherwise, I would need to be sitting in on a lot of band/orchestra rehearsals around the area, and really pushing to get students. This ends up saving me time, and gas money. Two pluses to this job: 1) I can re-arrange students to fit my Fall 2011 Class Schedule and continue teaching and making a little extra money in the fall; 2) Since students pay at the beginning of the month, I still get paid even if a student doesn't show up for a lesson.
July 24-29: Tallmadge HS Marching Band Camp, Woodwind - Clarinet Tech; Marching Tech
Net Income: $350, plus room/board
Travelling to Westerville, OH to teach at Band Camp. It's been a few years since I've worked at a band camp. I'm pretty excited, and a little nervous.
August 1 - 19: Revere HS Marching Band, Woodwind, Drill and Marching Tech
Net Income: $600-$700 (negotiable)
PLEASE be in prayer for this one! I am meeting with the band director in the next week to discuss duties and payment. I'm REALLY praying for $700, as it will help with some bills, and having a little extra money in the savings account for emergency funds (such as car repairs, technology repairs, etc). The set of camps and practices run here are great because they do them all at Revere HS, so I won't have to travel far, except to the HS. I'm really looking forward to this one.
**Currently, I am also in contact with Dr. Stoll from Southeast HS. It is possible that if their camps/practices line up with what I already have scheduled, I will be able to work with them as well.
None of these jobs have started yet, which leaves me with a lot of free time. Aside from working, I've been spending a lot of time with Isaiah. This relationship has been a completely different experience for me. It has required me to work through a lot of my past experiences (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it). God has been completely faithful in all this to reveal Himself to me, and to guide me through the dark places, wounds, and scars left by my past. I definitely still have a LONG way to go in this area, but looking back at the last two years, I've definitely come a long way. I really don't think I could've asked for a greater friend in my boyfriend; he's been more than patient, and understanding with me as I work through things with God. He allows me space when I need it, and patiently waits until I feel comfortable enough to talk through things. Satan, at times, loves to step in and tell me little lies about all of this, but I know that Jesus has crushed him with His heel, and that the love of God triumphs over all, so I keep listening for the still, small voice (and sometimes, the powerfully gentle voice) that tells me the Truth of who I am, and where He's taking me and guiding us in this.
Though it may not look like it from what I've just described, I actually will have more time than I have in the past to do some work of my own. I have a few things I'd like to personally accomplish over the summer:
- Book List: While I don't have a specific list of books, I'm going to challenge myself to see HOW MANY books I can get through this summer. I've already finished 1 (The Shack), and am in the middle of 3 others (see "Currently Reading" side panel). I'll keep you updated on how many and what I've finished as we keep going.
- Post-a-day: This may not be AS consistent, depending on when I have to send in my laptop for repairs, and being out of town for vacations/work, but I'm going to make a valiant effort. Some days they may be serious posts about what I'm learning, and at times they may just be updates, like this one!
- Pictures: I have a picture blog, because I actually enjoy taking photos. Lately, that hasn't been happening as often, however, I have a reasonable goal to post a picture everyday - every other day. I want to capture my summer in Ohio through pictures, since it's somewhat of a "new" experience for me.
- Curriculum and Course of Study: Go ahead, say it, I dare you: NERD. Whatever, I have a degree and state licensure, so it's my profession now. I currently have 3 books (including the SAGE) on Curriculum and Instruction. I'm also taking a class on the subject in Fall 2011 through the College of Education. My goal is to take some of the Curriculum layouts I started working on for projects in my undergrad, and hopefully develop a full course of study and curriculum that could be implemented in school system. This is a project that will take a lot of time and research, one that I'll probably continue to work on throughout Fall semester. I hope to go as far as to have curriculum for grades K-12 general music, band and orchestra, dividing it up to elementary, middle, and high school, with a possibility of breaking it down into grade level objectives for a school year. We'll see how far I get by the end of the summer. Right now, I'm just in the researching stages.
- Gardening: Yes, I live in an apt., which presents a bit of a challenge when growing plants. Isaiah and I planted 21 plastic cups' worth of seeds on Monday. I will probably plant a few more of the seeds with the remaining potting soil I have later this week. I decided to do this as a surprise (it won't be much of a surprise once she reads this) for my roommate next school year, Cathy. She really wanted a tomato plant on the porch of our new apt. when we move in, but by then, it'd be too late to plant one. Here's the seeds I planted:
- Columbine, Ice Princess, Shasta Daisy, Forget-Me-Not (2 cups each, 1 extra Columbine)
- Cilantro, Oregano, Garlic Chives, Rosemary (2 cups each)
- Bell Pepper, Tomato (3 cups each)
- Vacation Abroad: June 17-28/29. Going home to Cincinnati June 17-19 to see Shelby's final performance as Kylie in "Dead Serious About Life" and their ad-lib show, Father's Day with dad, and visiting friends; June 20-26 in Colorado to visit LT 2011 and friends; June 27-28/29 north of Columbus camping and spending time with family.
- Friends: I'm hoping to meet up with some friends around the area a little more often than I did during the school year for coffee and/or lunch/dinner to catch up and walk through life together this summer.
In all, I believe an ambitious summer lies before me. While I'm nervous about being around Northeast Ohio - an altogether new place for me, and have often gotten nostalgic in the last week, looking through pictures of past summers in the Rocky Mountains and discussing LT's of old with Amber, I know that it will be no less life-changing and exciting. If you've made it to the end of this, congratulations. You have now been updated.
