this may be a violation--blogging twice in one day--but i've got something completely different to express now.

i'm missing utep like crazy, and having a pretty rough time all around. so i start browsing blogs and reading first-year-teacher thoughts, and whatnot. i stumble upon pictures on the cohort iv homepage from my first week in my classroom. i'm standing on a chair "contemplating wall colors," as the caption states. just looking around the little bit of space visible in the photo, the randomness going on in the background--it's a completely different story now. i'm working in a real classroom that--on some level--is organized and functional. i remember wondering that first week of pd if it would never feel like "home," like a place that i would be comfortable teaching in. nearly 10 weeks later, it is. i feel so comfortable being in my classroom. it's finally starting to feel like mine. shades up, lights off, soft music, and it has a perfectly calming ambiance. outside of my broken car, i don't have a whole lot of spaces that feel that way. it's exactly the kind of stability and comfort i need right now.