FINAL BLOG: Do I regret the past two years of my life?
Well here we are. The last blog. What to say to sum things up? Even though the minimum number of words required has been increased to 1200, I doubt I would ever be able to sum up my experience here. And honestly explaining it to anyone is damn near impossible. You had to have lived it to understand it. So I am going to do the best I can to relive the past two years in 1000 words or less. Here we go…
Do I regret my decision to come to join MTC? No. If you keep up with my blog, you may have read a very dark post written by me a month or so ago. Every thing I wrote was the truth and based off of pure emotion. But you have to understand how much I have grown and accomplished over the two years. I am far more mature and beyond my years. I was cut off from my family essentially. I could not go home for a home cooked meal. I had to learn how to do it all myself. I learned how to maintain my own car. I was the one in charge of all my bills. I paid rent. Most 24 years cannot say that they have a house with a fenced in backyard and a garden. It truly has been a blessing.
But more important than that is the people that I have interacted with. Over the years I have come to understand that people come and people go. As much as I loved hanging out with my childhood best friend, we eventually grew apart. In college, I made some amazing friends but we are all over the country and rarely talk. But I have come to appreciate the time that I have with them. I will always remember the times in the Delta when Charlie, Carmelle, and I laughed so hard it hurt. Or just turned the music up and started dancing. Obviously, I will stay in contact with these two but surely there will be people that I will never see again. By saying I regret my decision to join MTC, I would be saying that it would have been okay if I never met these people. That I cannot do. The people I have met and the friends that I have made far out weight the negatives of the Delta.
Want another reason why I don’t regret joining MTC? TRAVEL! Let’s review all the places I have gone since being down here…
- Rhode Island
- Hawaii
- China
- England x2
- Canary Islands
- Cancun
- South Caribbean Cruise
- Orlando, FL to see HARRY POTTER WORLD
- Atlanta, GA to Coke and CNN (☺)
- New Orleans for Mardi Gras
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Memphis, TN (SAVED OUR LIVES)
- Jackson, MS
- Countless journeys home
You know I think I maybe missing a few small ones but I think you get my point. I have been SO lucky to do all this travelling. I didn’t like my situation so I got out of it by travelling. Cost of living is so low that I could afford it. The original plan was to come down and save a ton of money. Well I saved some. I can still live comfortably and not freak-out about money for a while. But even if I wasn’t able to save as much as I wanted, I would NEVER take back the experiences that I have had. Each one of those trips above meant so much to me. If you were to take a snap shot of me at any of those locations, you would have found me smiling from ear to ear. Nothing could have made me upset. I was out of the Delta! These trips reminded me that I was still a young adult only in their early 20s. It is easy to forget that living in the Delta. But when I travelled, I felt like I was doing all the stuff that I saw people on Facebook doing. Partying! Being adventurous! Having fun! NOT TO MENTION, most people do not take THAT many trips in two years. I mean I know a lot are small ones in the US but there were still some pretty significant ones as well. If I had not joined MTC, I doubt I would have traveled to more than three of those locations.
Well I suppose it’s time to talk about school and why I still don’t regret my decision to come down here. First of all, I still believe that traditional route for education is a waste of money and time. So I was definitely going the alternative route one way or the other. And I doubt things would have been too much different elsewhere. Well wait, maybe there were programs where I wouldn’t have to drive two hours for Target, but oh well, it was always an adventure! Next, teaching in the Delta taught me a lot about what not to do and what I definitely will do with my own children. First and for most, I will start reading to them while they are still in the womb. I don’t care how much they hate it. But you get the point. I have seen such horrible things that I refuse to allow to happen to me and my child. And so help me if I ever get a negative report from a teacher!! That child will pay…of course I don’t mean I will beat them! I have seen far too many negative results of corporal punishments.
I was recently asked if I would recommend this program to others. I can’t say yes or no. This program is not for every one. I think there are a lot of flaws in it, but at the end of the day, I made it through. So did 19 other people. It is because we are tough young adults. We have think skin and don’t break easily. I could have been placed in a city in TFA and it would suck just as much. But I would have made it because of who I am.
I would like to wrap things up by thanking a few people/groups. First and foremost, a BIG shout out to my family!!! They will never know how much of a support they have been these past two years. Not one of them pushed back when I complained about the kids. They simply encouraged me to keep going and that it would get better. I never once felt pressure from them to stay or quit. All I ever felt was love and support. Their kind words and random packages in the mail saved me. I am eternally grateful. Of course there are my fellow TFA teachers who just made life more interesting! They acted like they were still in college 99% of the time and often reminded me that I too was still young. Shout out to the other MTC participants who just encouraged each other each weekend in Oxford. Finally, Carmelle and Charlie. There are no words to express what you have done to me. You have picked me up from the ground and kept me going. You have seen me at my worse and still accepted me. At school we often complain about the lack of appreciation we feel. Well I am here to say that I really and truly appreciate you two and all that you have done. I doubt I would have made it to my first Christmas without y’all.
And just an FYI, y’all are stuck with me for life. This experience has glued us together!!! Reunion #1 will be in Fall 2012 when we watch Charlie run a marathon in Chicago!!!
THE END.
