2. I've never seen Singin' in the Rain. It is the only movie that frequently pops up in the top 50 movies of all time lists that I have never seen.
3. I repeat this saying to myself every day, and I ignore it every day: If I prioritize everything, I prioritize nothing.
4. I have four reoccurring dreams that I can remember with vivid insight. One of them involves me riding a dinosaur.
5. I am not a morning person or a night person. I adapt to whatever my situation calls for. I was just at home staying up to until 3 and sleeping into 10 or 11 when I worked at a movie theater as I am at going to bed between 9:30 and 10 and getting up at 5:30 now.
6. I am great at promoting self-care to my students, but there are few things I struggle with more in my own life. I am learning, but every time I take care of myself, I have to deal with four or five days of intense guilt. Just this weekend I allowed myself about 5 hours of video game time, and I have been feeling guilty for it all day today. This goes back to confession number 3. Everything has to be a priority, therefore nothing can be neglected for any reason at all.
7. The longer I teach English, the less I subscribe to the concept of a "right way of speaking/writing." I was pretty much a Prescriptive Grammarian before I took to this profession. I have changed many things about myself over the last 5 or so years, but I think my thoughts on language have changed the most. The only reason I ever correct a student's grammar is to help them figure out how to speak/write in more traditional settings. I have absolutely loved studying the usage of language with my AP students this year. I think I have learned more than they have as we have gone down the rabbit hole of the purposes of language.
8. I lie to people all the time. I have never stopped craving soda and fast food. I just want to put people at ease and make it seem easier. It's hard.
9. I apologize like 50 times a day. It is instinctive, but I have no idea where it comes from.
10. In high school, this group of people who terrorized me in middle school suddenly wanted to be my friend, and I drove myself mad wondering when it was all going to turn on me. I got super depressed about it, but had no idea how to talk about it what it was doing to me, so I wrote about it. It ended up this super depressing confession about how much I hated myself. I had no idea what to do with it but I wanted to share it with someone. I was too chicken to just show it to a friend, so I stuck it in my backpack and found a way to have a friend dig in my backpack and discover it. She took it our teacher who took it to the office. Someone talked to my parents about it, but my teacher wanted to talk to me about it. Mr. Rathbun probably saved my life, not in a suicidal way, but just in a way that I could function as a human being. He helped me find a sense of calm in my mind that raged like a storm. He is probably the reason I became a teacher. I am not sure I ever properly thanked him for that. it is crazy what it means to have an adult who isn't related to you and that you respect, tell you he believes in you. I have never forgotten that conversation. I try to be that teacher to my students. I think I succeed more than I fail.
11. I am never mad when people don't like me, but I always wish I could know why they don't like me. I wouldn't try to change their minds or anything, I am just genuinely curious what it is about me that they do not like. This especially applies when people unfriend me on FB. I always want to know what post did me in.
12. I try to not "like" anything ironically anymore. I am trying to eliminate the concept of "guilty pleasures." I am also trying to cut down on the time I spend talking about things I don't like. It's hard because I have spent so much time doing it, but I don't want anyone to feel stupid for liking the stuff they like, even if I don't understand its appeal. I think I am failing on this more than I am succeeding, but hey, I am trying.
13. I have never disliked anything just to be a contrarian, contrary to popular belief. Nor do I think my tastes are better than anyone else's, but I know the way I talk about things makes it appear that way. That's not my issue though. I can't help it.
14. When people ask me for book recommendations I feel immense pressure to get it right, and I really want to create a submission form for the person asking to fill out so I have better idea of what to aim for. (This applies for movie recommendations as well, though I have like 5 movies I recommend to everyone who asks.)
15. I abhor conversations comparing books to their adaptations. Please keep me out of them. Also, there are plenty of movies that are "better" than the book, so please stop coming at me with that Book is Better noise.
