The Only Thing Constant is Change

"The only thing constant in life is change."

I graduated from high school in 2010 thinking I had my life all figured out. I was going to be a pediatric physical therapist. I would start by attending college three hours away from home and studying kinesiology, graduating with my bachelor's degree in May 2014. I would then go on to attend physical therapy school starting in the summer or fall of 2014, completing my doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree within a few years.

I loved the kinesiology program the first year or so. Never had I taken academic classes that taught about sports, fitness, and health like these ones. The material was engaging and I was meeting new people who shared my love for sports, health, and fitness. My skepticism didn't begin until the fall of my sophomore year when I was taking anatomy and physiology, a required course for my major. The class was alright but the accompanying lab was extremely frustrating. I ended up dropping the lab and taking it again the following spring. I began to realize that while I was, and still am, fascinated by the human body, I didn't care to learn the name of each and every nook and cranny on the bones and muscles in the body. What I really wanted to do with my life, which I had known from the beginning when I planned to go into pediatric PT, was work with kids.

I had been thinking about being a teacher for awhile but had some reservations, such as the prospect of working in an educational system that is, in many ways, broken, and the thought of not making very much money. The more I learned about PT school, however, the more I realized what a huge investment it would be. Programs usually cost $50,000-$100,000 and the salary for a PT is about $60,000. My dad calculated earnings of teachers versus physical therapists and realized that if I started teaching at 22 or 23, while a PT didn't start working until they were 25 and $100,000 in debt, it would take about 15 years for the PT to have netted more money. Basically, he proved that money shouldn't be the reason I avoid going into education.

I changed my major to elementary education at the end of the spring 2012 semester, two years into my college education. I was projected to graduate in May 2015 with a bachelor's and licensure. However, due to some mistakes I made as well as circumstances beyond my control, I missed being able to apply to the Teacher Education Program this fall as originally planned. This set my graduation date back to December 2015, a 5 1/2 year college career.

I was frustrated and decided to revisit an option I had briefly evaluated this past summer, the bachelor of individualized studies. This program requires completion of the university's general education requirements as well as the minimum number of lower division (100- and 200-level) and upper division (300- and 400-level) credits. That's it. Credits can come from any department as long as these simple requirements are met.

When I checked out this program during the summer, I found out that I only needed about 24 more credits to graduate, 22 of which needed to be upper division. I decided to stay in the education program at that time and therefore am not enrolled in any upper division classes this fall. Since I can't take all 22 upper division credits this coming spring, I will need to take some this spring and some over the summer. I will officially graduate at the end of the summer but will be able to participate in the May 2014 graduation ceremony.

I then plan to pursue a master's degree in education. Both in-state universities offer master's with licensure programs and I have been told they typically take about two years. So now instead of graduating in December 2015 with a bachelor's in education, I am on track to graduate around May 2016, just one semester later, with a master's instead.

When I was about 17, I decided I was going to be a physical therapist. I'm not. When I was 20, I decided I was going to graduate with a bachelor's in elementary education. I'm not. Now, nearing 22 years old, I have decided I will graduate with a bachelor's in individualized studies followed by a master's in elementary education with licensure. It isn't what I originally wanted and planned to do, but change is inevitable in life and I'm excited to get started on my new plan.

Must be teaching, huh?

I live in an apartment on campus which is really convenient because it's right next to everything. It can also be quite inconvenient because… it's right next to everything. Tonight I was driving home after Yom Kippur services and the break-the-fast at temple. About a quarter mile from my apartment, my university's football team had just lost to one of our biggest rivals. I encountered road blocks and heavy traffic but eventually was able to park where I usually do across the street from my apartment building.

I got out of my car and prepared to cross the street, noting how odd I must look dressed for temple when everyone else was headed home from a football game. As I walked on the sidewalk beside barely moving traffic, a guy in the backseat of a car, potentially very intoxicated, starting yelling at me.

"Hi!" he called. "Hi!" I responded, waving politely. He yelled out our university's mascot and I again waved. He then started shouting random questions which I decided to ignore. A few moments into this interrogation, he called out, "What's your major?!" As I started climbing the stairs to the front gate of my apartment building, still ignoring the guy, I heard him say, "Must be teaching, huh?!"

I didn't look back but smiled to myself. Random guess or do I really look like a teacher? Maybe it was the outfit...

Sarah's Summer Summary

Well, it's been a long, mostly good summer. I worked at JCC day camp for the first time since I was 17, made good money, and got to work alongside some new people as well as some I have known since I was a kid. I joined a new gym where I learned some new exercises and a new style of strength training program and met a bunch of awesome people. I spent a lot of time with friends playing games, going out to eat, seeing movies, and just hanging out and also spent a lot of time with my family, including our sweet dog Scout. I spent a weekend enjoying the outdoors at Girl Scout Camp with my mom and many other wonderful people. I visited my friend's classroom multiple times both in May and August and continued to get a feel for what it's really like to be a teacher. It's been real; back to my "school life" in the morning!

Dancing With the Dinosaur

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I was having a discussion with a friend recently during which I expressed that I think hookups are tacky. She was shocked by my comment; I believe "bold" was the word she used to describe it.

In our society today, people are for using. Every day students interact with professors only to get the grade they want and they spend time with people they don't even like because those people make them look popular. There are those who volunteer at a homeless shelter for the sole purpose of crafting a stellar college or job application and those who call their parents only when they need money. Newspaper headlines regularly highlight businesspeople who had no problem cheating and lying their way to a bigger paycheck, even if it meant hurting other people.

It should therefore come as no surprise that most individuals in my generation think using another person for whatever they desire, including sex, is absolutely acceptable. But what if people are more than objects to be used? Is it such a bold and insane idea to suggest that ourselves and our fellow humans are not objects at all, but rather carefully, purposefully made creations, full of intention, conscience, maybe even a soul?

If the student talked to their professor like a human being, they might find out a little about the professor's life outside of work. If the volunteer took the time to chat with the homeless shelter residents, they might get to hear some fascinating stories. But hearing about a professor's family or listening to a homeless person talk about their day would not have any material benefit to the listener and is therefore not appealing in our gimme gimme world.

Everyone, including me, uses people for personal gain from time to time, but it is not right. The Torah, known as the Old Testament to Christians, teaches that each human being is made B'tezelem Elohim, in the image of God. This idea comes from Genesis 1:26. As the lyrics to one of Rabbi Joe Black's children's songs goes, "Everybody's got a little bit of God in them!" So, if we're made in the image of God, perhaps even having a spark of God in us, why aren't we acting that way? Call me crazy, but I don't think human beings made in the image of God deserve to be used.

I told another friend about the aforementioned conversation and she said it reminded her of a song called Dancing with the Dinosaur. It's written by Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman and while I'm not Christian, I think it delivers a valuable message:

Once upon a time not so long ago in a land not so far away
Right and wrong were not quite so hard to know
And black and white were not so gray
Times have changed and now it seems
Conscience has gone the way of the dinosaur
But I believe it's still alive and well today
In the hearts of those who will stand up and say

I'm dancing with the dinosaur
Living my life with conscience and conviction
I don't want to see the truth ignored
So I've gotta keep on dancing
I've gotta keep on dancing with the dinosaur

If believing that people are not objects to be used sends me back to the Mesozoic Era, then so be it. I'm strong enough to say what I think is right, even if it is unpopular. Maybe someday our society will decide that people are not for using. In the meantime, I'll just be over here dancing with the dinosaur.

So Was I Helpful?

I was in the gym with my group of rowdy and highly competitive day camp boys. My co-counselor and I have many 8-year-olds and also some 7-, 9-, and 10-year-olds. The kids were playing Star Wars, a version of dodgeball that they absolutely love. I, on the other hand, always vote against playing this game because almost every time we play, at least one kid ends up crying. Today was no exception.

I didn't really see what happened but suddenly one of my boys was crying. I have a few boys who will cry if someone so much as pokes them, but this crier wasn't one of them. I saw him storming off to the side of the gym just as my CIT's were stopping the game due to arguing. (Like I said, Star Wars never seems to turn out well.)

The crying boy made it to the side of the gym and angrily punched the door to an adjacent office. Wanting to help him calm down while avoiding getting hit myself, I stood behind him and reached over his shoulders, grabbing his hands. This is my go-to move for upset kids as it both restrains them and feels like a big hug.

"Calm down, buddy," I whispered to him, "if you hit someone, you'll have to go to the office."

He soon ceased to seem dangerous so I let him go and we sat down against the door he had just hit.

"What happened?" I asked, but he was still fuming and did not respond. After I asked a few more times, he responded by informing me that he didn't want to tell me what happened because I would not be able to help.

"Try me!" I countered, knowing I would almost surely be able to help solve this dilemma if I knew the details.

He continued to insist I would not be helpful and that it wouldn't be worth it to "risk it".  This went on for a bit. Then I remembered that I had seen a certain other child push the crier so I asked if that child was involved, already knowing he was. I suppose this led to my gaining his trust as he then told me which other boys were also involved. We walked to the nearby camp office where I sat with the four of them and let each tell his version of what happened. We eventually came to a peaceful solution and left to go join the rest of the group.

As I walked with the boys from the camp office to our group's classroom, I looked over at the original crier, who was still visibly upset and holding back tears.

"So, was I helpful after all?"

"Yes," he admitted and broke into a grin.

Three Strikes, I'm Out

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You know it's serious business when you find yourself emailing back and forth with the Associate Dean of the College of Education. Ya, that's what I've been doing the past few days.

Undergraduate education majors at my university spend their last three semesters in an on-site program involving two semesters of classes and one of student teaching. Students must apply and be accepted to the Teacher Education Program, or TEP, the semester before beginning the three-semester sequence. I was planning to apply this fall, start next spring, and graduate in May 2015.

The requirements to apply are pretty simple: Applicants have to have taken or be currently enrolled in about seven specific classes and have passed the first of a series of state competency exams required for licensure. The test is offered every three months.

I thought about taking the test in January, but it fell on my 21st birthday, so I decided to wait.

I was planning to sign up for the April test but didn't get around to registering until the day after the first deadline which would have added a late fee to the cost. I decided to sign up for June instead.

I was all set to take the test in June, but because of living at my parents' house for the summer and generally being in non-school mode, I forgot to attend. It wasn't until that night that I realized my mistake.

So there you have it: three perfectly good opportunities to take this test and still I have not taken it. Course-wise I am eligible to apply this fall but rules are rules and this test is required for application to the TEP. My next opportunity to apply would be in the spring which would put me in the less awesome three-semester sequence (the same courses but the program is run by a different professor) and cause me to graduate a semester later. Now I just have to see what, if anything, the Associate Dean can do to help. Like I said, you've probably dug yourself into a pretty darn deep hole if you are emailing the Associate Dean.

Proud of All the Wrong Things

I see it all over nowadays, but maybe it's been happening for years and I am just now noticing. People are very proud and they aren't afraid to show it via Facebook posts, bumper stickers, or just flat out saying so.

People are proud of a lot of different things, too. Some are proud to be gay. Others are proud to be straight. There are those who are proud of their race and/or ethnicity. Some are proud to be Democrats while others are loud and proud Republicans. Some people are proud to be Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, while others feel great pride in claiming atheism. On the road are visible displays of proud parents of middle school honors students and proud smart ass dog owners whose Chihuahuas and Pit Bulls are apparently smarter than the aforementioned honors students.

Yes, we are a society of very proud people. But at the end of the day, do you have something to actually be proud of? You didn't do anything special to become whatever ethnicity you may be; you were born that way by random chance. In other words, you don't get any credit there. In fact, what right do you have to be proud of virtually any of the attributes from the previous paragraph? What did you do to become a Republican? Spend five minutes registering to vote? And why should you get to feel proud to be a believer in a certain school of thought? Did you do something meaningful to the world?

Characteristics such as race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, political party affiliation, religious views, and even perceived intelligence are so superficial compared to ones that are actually important. Put together any combination of the above traits and you still don't have anything to be proud of. What really matters is what kind of person you are. Are you kind to strangers as well as family? Do you stick up for the little guy? Are you ethical or a cheater? Do you spend your free time helping others or sacked out on the couch watching TV? Imagine the day when the signs and banners advertising pride in superficial things were gone and replaced simply by "Proud to be a good person". Our world would be forever changed.