"Seasons"

So my new job comes in "seasons." There's travel season, from September to November, then reading season from November until September, with a little bit of travel in the middle. I'm about two weeks into the reading season now, and its quite a nice change of pace. What does reading season mean? It means sitting at my double-monitored computer for eight hours reading countless applications and deciding if a kid is ready to come to college. Yup, I actually can admit people. When I was in high school I always wondered if anyone was actually going to read my application, and now I know. At least at USM, we read them all.

The essays I have been reading have been something else. Some make me laugh,(like the kid who claims that chop suey made him who he is today), some make me cry (like the kid who wrote about volunteer work he did with children in the Guatemala City dump), and some just make me cringe. I was never an English teacher, so I've never had the pleasure of learning what kids write about, and I've always wondered. I think the essays are the most fascinating part of the reading I do every day. Its funny, sometimes I'll share the topic of an essay with Jim, like the kid who wrote about Fluffernutter sandwiches and how they changed his life (it actually made a little too much sense), and Jim will claim them to be an instant admit. The essays are great because I get to know a little more about who I'm letting into our school.

Jim asked me an interesting question the other day. He said, if you were offered a teaching position today, would you take it? And I told him honestly, no. I really love this new job. The seasons make it so interesting and I haven't had energy like this in years. I still get to work with students, but I get to connect with adults too. And my department is fantastic. I don't think I've ever worked with a group that is so close and supportive of each other. I couldn't imagine walking away.

On another note, if you haven't heard, Jim got a new position. He is now an academic advisor in the School of Business at USM. He loves it and is so excited about it. It kind of fell in his lap, which was a good thing, since due to some reorganization in the President's Office he wasn't sure where he'd be in the next few weeks, and it puts him up close with students, which is what he's been wanting to do for some time now.

I have to say, it is so nice to have us both come home from work and not be dragging our feet and hating our days. Its been a long time since we've both been there, and its a welcome change.