I Fall Down

I am the kind of person that trips and falls a lot. I am quite a clumsy walker. I have had several memorable falls in all my years, and somehow I never really get hurt. I have never broken a bone or had a serious injury, just skinned knees and bumps and bruises.

Some of my most memorable falls - either because they were funny or just hurt a lot:

Spring of my sophomore year in college, when I was studying abroad in Montevideo, we had spent the afternoon at the beach, and were leaving and walking to the bus stop to head home. We were stopped at the street, and right in front of the sidewalk where we were standing was a gutter. As we waited for a couple of cars to pass before crossing, someone said, "Watch out for the gutter." When the traffic cleared, I was reared up and ready to go, so I stepped out to make my way across the street. Yes, I stepped into the gutter and fell flat on my face, landing in the middle of the street, and had to jump up rather quickly to avoid getting run over. The saddest part of this fall was the fact that I ripped a whole in my favorite candy pants - which were comfy capris that I had made for myself out of candy printed material.

Also in college, I liked to stand on chairs and sing along to music. One night my roommates joined me and we all stood on chairs in the living room to sing along to my ATeens cd. As we sang, I was using my ladle microphone that I had made for myself. I don't remember the specifics, but I do know that I was standing on my swiveling desk chair, somehow fell onto the ground, and hit myself in the head with my ladle. It hurt a lot. Probably safer, but it sometimes makes me sad that I no longer sing while standing on swiveling desk chairs.

When I was in the 4th grade, I had quite an embarassing and tragic fall. My class was standing in line by the door to our classroom to go to lunch. Being me, I made sure that I was close to the front, and I wouldn't let anyone in front of me. So, kids started pushing. I continued to stand in the way, got pushed, and landed face first in the classroom trashcan. For a few days, I had a line from the rim of the trash can across my stomach. You would think that I learned something from that, but I still make sure that I am at the front of any food line. Luckily, I haven't been pushed into a trash can since.

The last of the falls I will recount for you happened today. There was some sleet last night, and as result, there was some ice on the bottom steps of my apartment. Last night, I made a comment to Victoria about how if I slipped on the steps, she might have to come save me. Yes, as I left for work this morning, I slipped on the steps. Not only did I fall and hit the back of my head on the concrete step (which REALLY hurt), I was carrying an uncapped smoothie, which ended up covering the front of my coat, splattered my khaki pants, went inside my purse, and ended up coating half of my face and my hair. Needless to say, it was a lovely morning. I now have a bump on my head, but have finally tken enough Advil to laugh at the situation, and the smoothie that covers our bottom steps and handrail.

The End

Grad School....more like Bad School!!

We are the hero of our own story. - Mary McCarthy


Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?

If you don't know, I am currently in grad school working on my Master's in Bilingual Eduation and I'm also teaching full time. And I have to say, it sucks. I feel like all I do is work - whether it be writing papers, grading papers, reading, studying, lesson plans, and all kinds of other boring, necessary stuff. I think that right now I would give just about anything to go back in time a year and not start the whole grad school thing. I'm halfway done now, so it's a little too late to quit, but seriously, I hate my life right now. I work so hard, and for what??? So that I can have another piece of paper at the end with my name on it, and maybe, just maybe, get paid an extra $100 a month??? It just really doesen't seem worth it, and there are many days when I really feel like it is going to kill me. I hardly ever get to have fun anymore, and I hate it. I love my job, and I would never do anything else, but it is very draining work and I am always tired. Grad school was a huge mistake. It is sucking all of the life out of my life.

A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice.

Going back to the whole grad school thing - there are lots of not so smart people in my classes. I'm not sure if it's just that I'm really smart, or they really aren't, but seriously, get a clue!!! I'm an intelligent person, and I catch on to things really quick, and I hate being treated like a dummy. This happens at work sometimes, and it drives me nuts. Don't waste your time and energy telling me things that I already know and have already figured out - focus on the less fortunate people that really need you, and let me go home early if I don't need to listen to you - because, really, all I'm doing is texting and drawing pictures anyway.

It is necessary for me to establish a winner image. Therefore, I have to beat somebody.

I really like to win. I am a sore loser and a sore winner. When I lose I pout and manipulate the situation so that I actually end up winning. When I win I gloat and make the loser feel bad. I'm not sure why I'm this way, I just am. I guess that it's just too bad that for me to win someone else has to lose. Lately I feel like I've had a really hard time winning and losing graciously. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be successful and live up to my own expectations, and with everything that is going on, I am not okay with mediocrity. Yes, I know that this isn't always a bad thing, but I definitely take it too far. I'm sorry if I ever tried really hard to beat you and hurt your feelings or made you feel dumb or took all of the fun out of whatever we were doing.

I don't really like life right now, but happiness is on its way. Tomorrow is my last class of the semester, and I'm only taking one in the spring, so I will be able to have a life again. I will be less tired, less stressed, and I will actually come out of my apartment sometimes. Watch out, world, Emily is finally free again!!!!!!