TFA Institute Beginnings

So far so good. It has been a pretty chill day, in spite of the several events we've already attended -- opening ceremony, team get to know each others, dinner, games. I checked into my dorm at BU at around 2PM, unpacked, chilled with some of my suite mates, and then suited up and headed over to dinner, where the whole TFA-Mass congregated for the first time as a whole group. There a bit over 100 of us here.  We then broke into groups and played a few ice breaking games (my favorite of which was creating a group signature handshake). Things really slowed down after dinner and I played Apples to Apples with a huge group, which was phenomenal, and then came back down to our suite and chilled with some new friends. The point of the first day was really just to get to know each other.

One of my goals during induction will be to try to meet everyone in the Massachusetts corps. I meta few today already, though I definitely still need to work on learning everyone's names, but I'm doing pretty good. I just want to be at the top of my game so badly because this is really real now. It's going to happen, I am on the road to becoming a teacher. I feel like everything I do now will set the pace of my first teaching year, which I hear is going to be brutal anyway no matter what, but I'm going to try my best to prepare for the things I can control. Our region director reminded us of the importance of being the best version possible of ourselves we can be today, because we are going to need the best attitudes and the best work ethic ever to turn our institute experience this summer the most rewarding. And I love this, because I have always been taught by my family and by my religion to do exactly this- take what I can control into my hands and roll with it.

There's a lot I still don't know about what institute will be like. I know I'll be teaching summer school, and that ill be scrutinized every step of the way. I don't know what kind of teacher I'll be yet. I don't know what lesson planning will be like. But I'm eager to find out, and to be a part of such an inspiring movement.