189

only one hundred eight nine days

Give and Get is Here!

Give and Get is Here!

life is good

Realization of the day: life is good, no matter what happens life is always good.

Who I Am Today

Here is a very bad first draft of my introductory speech that explains my major change this week. That said, please forgive the incorrect grammer, bad structure, and awkwardness.



Who I Am Today
When I woke up yesterday morning, I was not who I am today. I am Lea Avrit, and I live in Greenbrier, Tennessee. I am at Austin Peay State University, because I want to make a difference to someone, somewhere but preferably in the Robertson County school system. I do not mean to be picky about the somewhere; it is just where I want to teach. I woke up yesterday with every part of me wanting to become a math teacher at Greenbrier High School. Since then, I have found what I truly want to do in life and that is to teach middle school math, and yes, preferably at Greenbrier Middle School.
Passion is must have in everything that anyone ever does, and that is why I changed the course my life was on yesterday at 1:40 p.m. I felt no passion for teaching upper level, high school math anymore, because I realized I would not be helping the people I set out to help in my decision to become a math teacher. I want to help those who, like me, were not good at math, but strived to be the best at it as possible. I would not be helping those students if I taught an upper level Calculus class, because the students that truly needed help on that level would not be in my class. That is why I changed my mission in college yesterday.
I promise this tangent has a point. All of this was inspired by one of my hobbies, and it is to tutor struggling math students at Greenbrier High School every other day during the school year, depending on what my school schedule allows. I love helping them understand the impossible and watching them go from completely lost in one second and then euphorically answering any question posed to them on that topic the next. I cannot ever get used to how that makes me feel to see that happen, and I do not want to. I enjoy every moment when I feel like a proud soccer mom whose kid just scored the first goal of the entire season, and set the pace for the rest of the games. That feeling is enough to see me through all my years of schooling to become that one middle school math teacher set on making a difference.

The only other real hobby I have is reading. My ultimate escape is reading one of my favorite books while sitting at my fiancé’s couch, with the television as quiet as it will go without it being too quite, sipping coffee and eating a piece of dense, refrigerator cold chocolate sheet cake. When I read, I am introduced to another world that anything can happen, and no one can ever take that escape from me. Well, no one used to be able to until college proved it could. To better clarify, I should say I took it away from myself since homework gets put before it usually and after homework is done I no longer have time to read anymore. As I become a more experienced student, I am starting to be able to work reading into my schedule responsibly without having to cut homework the short end of the stick. I am determined to master the balance of reading and doing school work responsibly one day, even if I am old and gray, it will be done.
My determination will see me through everything I set out to accomplish. I will become a middle school math teacher. I will become a middle school math teacher who cares about my students, and will make a difference in at least one life. If I teach for thirty years and only have that impact on one student the whole entire time, everything I have ever done to get to that point will be worth it. Every time I sat in classes I have hated with a passion almost as big as my passion for teaching will be worth it, because I have managed to make a difference in the world we live in by impacting one student for the better. My name is Lea Avrit, and I am going to make a difference to someone, somewhere. When I do, it will be amazing.

Give and Get is Here!

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from August 26-29 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy and we'll donate 5% of what you spend to a non-profit."

School Time!

The school year is my absolute favorite time of the year! I was at the local high school for the first two days of school this year. It was great to see a whole new group of math students to be subjected to my tutoring (muhahaha)! I can't wait to see what all they learn and maybe even compete in the math competition in the spring at Austin Peay, but I won't get my hopes up yet. It has finally hit me that all of the students I met when they were freshmen my first year at GHS are now seniors. As the school year approaches for me I look to say goodbye to BRFS and hopefully go to GAP if everything goes well. I am excited and anxious about the changes to come and plan to make the year to come just as fantastic as the other three and half at GO and BRFS have been! Speaking of changes, another major change has taken place over this summer and it has made me even more excited for the next 302 days to get here! Nick has gotten his own place and even bought a brand new fridge too! I'm soo proud of him and what he has accomplished over this summer!

School this year is going to be challenging and just as exciting as last year! I hope to have an even more fantastic time this time around!

ummm... it's almost August?!!

June went by fast enough, and now July too?! Seriously, this is getting old! So, I picked up my phone last night to text my best friend, and I realized I haven't seen her since June, and have only talked to her maybe twice since then. This week was looking really great to hang out with her until I remembered church camp is this Sunday through Friday and my vacation to Georgia was the next week!

Alot has changed this year and evidently it is going to keep on changing whether or not I want it to! One of my friends from high school is getting married tonight and that still has yet to really sink in since a not so long ago time she was going to wait, but I'm glad she is happy. The army pushed that one up for her.

Another one of my best friends got married on May 21 to her Airforce man. She is soo in love with him, but I would love it if the military stuck with their original plan to keep them here til December instead of August! (Hint, hint, wink, wink Mr. President!)

I am so grateful that one thing has changed, and that is one of my other friends gets her husband back and their son gets his daddy back from oversees as soon as they get everything worked out to get him from point A in the states to point B, which is home!




Another fantastic change is also an extremely stressful change! Getting grant money to a local high school is tricky! Very tricky! Luckily the ones who are providing the grant money are very flexible and try really hard to give away the money to those who need it! That is what is in store for my day on Tuesday.... Connecting a company and high school in order to get calculators for the math department. Wish me luck!

How Time Flies!

As I sat down tonight, I realized that unless I updated my blog tonight it would probably not get done during June. This month has been CRAZY! I started working in Lebanon at the outlet mall temporarily until the Banana Republic Factory Store opened up there temporary women's store. Yay for 49 miles one way to work for now this summer. The setup process for BRFS started this Monday and I don't know how people have the patience to open up stores like this in one week! It has been such a rush to try and get everything done for the grand opening on June 18th.

Last Friday I ordered my wedding cake and Nick's grooms cake! I can't wait for a year and three days to see how they both turn out! (By the way, if you know any one who needs a person to make a fantastic cake send them my email and I will let them know!)

Another wonderful thing this month has brought is Eclipse! The third installment of the Twilight Saga is going to be wonderful and I can't wait to see it in 14 days at midnight!!! The soundtrack is really good and I enjoy listening to it as I drive to work.

Last but not least, vacation season starts and I am looking forward to that for sure! :)

Mmmm... Desserts!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE desserts, especially of the chocolate variety!

I have three new favorites, and one that I have been meaning to blog about since April! I have now made and tried these three and feel the need to share theses amazing treats.

1. Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2. Hershey's Three-in-One Chocolate Chip Cookies
Email me for this recipe!

3. Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake (Texas Sheet Cake)

These are amazing! Sorry it has been a while, but everything has been hectic and maybe it will simmer down enough to get back to blogging!

Sneaky Spring Semester

This first spring semester of college has flown by! It seems like it was yesterday when I walked into Dr. Butts 2010 History class at 10:10 that Monday morning. As I look back with only three weeks of classes left, I am grateful for everything that has happened. This semester I have planned my wedding almost completely, made it through English 1010 with Mrs. Teter - who is an amazing teacher -, made it almost all the way through Calculus II which has been a feat, and also have skipped my first class ever! By the way, I am NEVER going to intentionally skip a class again! I just pray I can make it through the end of exams with my current grades or even better bring them up.

I am so ready for this summer. So far I am going to a friend's wedding on May 14th, and another one on June 5th. The second weekend in June I am going to Gatlinburg with my mom and hopefully my aunt as well. June 30th is when ECLIPSE comes out!!!!!! So excited! That weekend I get to go to Florida with Nick's family, and then the last full week in July I am going to Georgia with the family and hopefully Nick!!!

This is all for now, because I have to focus on staying up to register for classes and study for the math test on Thursday!

I Think I Can

I always thought I would hate college.... Guess What?! I was right! I don't hate all of college, just the writing papers and actually having to study. My freshman year has kicked my booty. Between University Physics, History Paper, English Essays, and Calculus I-II I am surprised I haven't lost my mind completely. I am glad I am in college, don't get me wrong, I am just wondering why it is so hard. Seriously, everyone should have to go to college before they start yelling that it was the decision you made to go so you should have to deal with it instead of complaining. Oh well, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can is what is getting me through.... I WILL make it! Maybe this blog will be my pep talk to myself when I think I can't! Enough for now... Have to study for Calculus II quiz...

What I Don't Understand

1. Why five pages of a boring topic are required to be written in history.
2. Why majors that aren't hisory have to take history.
3. Why I can't concentrate on writing papers.
4. Why hot dogs come in 10 and buns in 8.
5. Why we need to find the area under the curve on a graph.
6. Why college is needed to teach; I'm pretty sure my great aunt was perfectly fine teaching without it.
7. Why you must have internet service with Verizon's Blackberry.
8. Why gas cost so much.
9. Why anything cost so much.
10. Why I am doing this.... oh well... just wanted my frustrations to be heard... :) Thanks!

Origin of "Know Your Limits"

This past November, I had the opportunity to attend the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference in Nashville. My future mother-in-law also attended this conference. While we were there I purchased a shirt that had an amazing saying printed on the front.

Limits were by far my favorite thing in Calculus I. My love for Calculus began because of an amazing teacher, Leslie Spicer!
This is a limit by substitution, so you plug in the infinity where the x is in the problem. So in turn, one divided by infinity equals as close to zero as you can get! I was soo excited when I saw this t-shirt! One day I hope to add some more math t-shirts to my collection which has another one already.


With this shirt, the imaginary number i is telling the pi symbol to be rational since it is an irrational number, and pi is telling the imaginary number to get real! (I know, like I said, Math Geek!)

Another favorite I hope to get is this:


Anyways, this is all the nerd I have tonight!

Give and Get!

Give and Get is here again! If you want to receive a coupon for 30% off to Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy please send me an email or comment your email on this post.

It is good March 18 - March 21!

5% of all purchases using these coupons will go the the Blood Cancer Research Foundation!

30% off all Gap Inc. Stores!

Forward to everyone you know that will use it!