Katie the Crazy Cat Lady (one of many)

     Hello everyone! I am beyond excited to be in this class with all of you. You all seem like amazing human beings who love kids and I really believe it takes a special person to teach the little humans. A little bit about me… I have a cute little Quarter horse named Tucker who has been my partner for eleven years now. After high school I decided to stop barrel racing and brought him to Chico with me. He is my stress reliever and only source of complete peace amidst this chaotic time in my life. I have two cats that I love with all of my heart named Meredith and Rousey (yes she was named after Ronda Rousey). My boyfriend hates cats and his limit was zero and now I own two… Recently I started the Game of Thrones series and am completely addicted and would love to geek out with any fellow GOT lovers.

     Like many of you, choosing to be a teacher was the only thing that really made sense. In the beginning of my college career all I knew was that I loved to write, reading books is still the greatest thing ever, and that kids are the best teachers out there. Ultimately I decided to be a teacher because I want to go to a job everyday KNOWING that at the end of the day I will have made a difference in someone’s life and made some sort of impact, big or small. My mom is a beautiful person and it is because of her that I am here today sitting next to all of you. I am terrified to be a teacher, but at the moment my mom believes in me enough for the both of us. I am here. And I find myself feeling a terrified  type of excited in the best way because Kim Jaxon has that effect on even the most unconfident of students/future teachers.

    Now for the Williams article that we read. I’m not really sure that there should be a clear cut definition for a “reader”. At this time there is so much information readily available to us that the contents of what we “read” is so diverse that there is no label for it. Outside of school I read for “pleasure”, which is a word I feel hesitant to use because there are many reading assignments for classes that I find myself surprised to actually enjoy. I think that as soon as there is a deadline attached to a reading many people approach that reading differently, maybe in part because there is potential stress attached to it now. For me I feel that that is the reason why I can scroll through twitter/instagram/facebook for twenty minutes or so reading through different articles as I go and take in the information and enjoy it. But then when I am assigned an article there is a possibility of failure attached to it now. There’s a chance that I will miss the big picture or finish without gaining the knowledge my teacher/professor had hoped I would  by reading that assignment. In the end I think that all the little/big bits and pieces we read here and there build us into who we are. If you were to look at my bookshelf you would see my favorite books ranging from ages 3-20 years old. And looking at every book takes me back to that point I was at in my life when I read it (or had it read to me) and that bookmarked memory means so much to me. So it is all connected. I believe the connections we are able to make are evidence of how much we have grown mentally and emotionally.