And So It Begins...

I had my first two days of class last week and so far I really like them. I feel like I won't know for sure until a few weeks in because everyone is on their best behavior still at this point so you can't really tell. One of my first assignments is to write an introduction letter to my teacher. This is something that is very typical of an education class and so I have written a ton of them. Even after all the practice, I still do not like it at all. I never know what to say. How do you sum yourself up in one page or less??? Double spaced, too! I hate the typical, "my name is Emily and my favorite colors are blue and red. I want to teach high school." Geez Lousie, how boring! I once wrote my autobiography and entitled it "Almost Alma." At the time, it was a very good representation of me I believe. I think I will post here under the rough draft of the one I just finished for class. Maybe it will help you get to know me better, and maybe it will just confuse you. Anyway, here they are.
I love stories. If I had to choose a most defining quality, that would probably be it. I always have a book in my purse. When I start a book, I can hardly stand to put it down until I have finished. I have had to work very hard to control this because it can greatly inhibit my productivity at times. My choice of my geography major stems a lot from this. I enjoy looking at a culture or place and getting the story behind it. I really believe there is a story in everything if we look hard enough to find it.
My story is that I am a Senior plus one semester. I changed my major to geography the semester after I returned from my study abroad in London, England. That semester was one of the defining parts of my life. I learned a lot about who I was and who I wanted to be while I was there. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world, and that desire was magnified through that experience.
I want to have a classroom built on love. I realize this seems completely idealistic, but at least I can try. I hope my students will come to genuinely care about the world and people around them because it seems that not very many people do. We live in an extremely selfish society and I want to do what I can to change that, in however small a degree.
I am the oldest of three children and the only girl. My parents are still together, which is something for which I am very grateful. I am very close with all of my family. I write a blog just for them and won’t let anyone else read it (my boyfriend knows about it, but he hasn’t seen it). I have lived in South Carolina my entire life, but have travelled a lot. It is one of my favorite things to do because it gives you such a different perspective about yourself and the world.
I could go on forever, but I think I covered the important stuff. I like to talk a lot and have an opinion on most everything so I am really excited about sharing them and developing some new ones over this semester.

See, I told you these things are ridiculous. I feel like someone asked me to paint a self portrait, but only gave me enough paint to finish my arm.

Almost Alma

an autobiography in third person by E.K.K.

Emily Kathleen King was born on October 27, 1986 in Florence, SC a town to which she would return a least once a week for the next 12 years of her life to get allergy shots. Gross. She has two younger brothers. One is a year and 1 day younger and one who is 8 years and 2 weeks younger. She loves being the oldest and getting to do things first because she always feels young when compared to her peers.
As a child, Emily was very clumsy and her dad would always hum the theme to “The Twilight Zone” when ever she did something like fall out of a chair. She would like to say she grew out of it but that would be a lie, and Emily is a very honest person. You might say that she doesn’t sugar coat things, although she wouldn’t say it because that conversation has never gone well for her.
She grew up in the middle of nowhere before moving to a small town and has no desire to ever live in a small town again, but will consider living in the middle of nowhere with a large enough dog.
Emily currently is a junior at the University of South Carolina with a major currently under construction. She likes being able to hold up her hand during the alma mater at football games. After she graduates she is considering going to grad school or on a mission or moving somewhere exciting like England, Vermont, Tennessee, Canada, Colorado, Greenville, or Charleston, just to name a few of her favorites.
If you want to understand her better you should watch Anne of Green Gables or any Jane Austen novel made into movie, those are the characters on which she has based her life. She realizes this automatically means no boy will ever understand her. She lived in England for a short while but refuses to even try to do a British accent, except when asking questions she sometimes does it accidentally, much to her embarrassment. She does like to say British words sometimes even though she has run into a few people who think doing so is rubbish. Oh, and she sometimes does an imitation of the lady that announces the tube stops like “The next stop is Baker Street. Alight here for Madame Tussaud’s and the Planetarium.”
If Emily ever somehow had a million dollars, she would hire a driver/bodyguard because she hates driving and likes feeling safe.She is very afraid of elevators, which is sort of inconvenient because she lives on the 5th floor of her apartment building. She realizes this fear is irrational, but she can not help it and will take the stairs if the elevator appears likely to be sketchy.
She sometimes feels like she should be 90 because she likes crocheting, rocking chairs, and sitting on porches. She is afraid of becoming a scary old lady.She is really good at beating people playing darts. She has absolutely no control over where her dart lands, but somehow she always wins.When she was born her dad wanted to name her Alma, but her mom said no because she always wanted to name a girl Emily if she had one. As a result, she got stuck with the boring name.
Emily loves running and is currently training to run a half marathon with her dad in January. Her dad ran marathons when he was in college and it has always been her dream to run one with him. Right now she is settling for just a half.
Emily likes to read advice columns even though the advice never applies to her. Her favorite column is Dear Margo on Yahoo. She also really likes quotes.
In her spare time Emily likes to read books and watch movies. She loves Remember the Titans and cries every time she watches it. Music is one of her favorite things and she loves John Mayer lyrics. She also really likes Michael Jackson’s songs even though she thinks he is horribly sketchy in real life. Emily also likes to play sports even though she usually gets injured somehow when she plays. She wishes she got to go camping more often and her favorite bug is the firefly.