This April, I can't dig in the dirt or pull the lawnmower cord. But watching my students discover that alliteration mimics wind and waves, I realize: some gardens grow in syntactical soil, where seeds bloom long after the gardener moves to Germany.
Education & Advocacy
Who Will I Be in Germany? A Teacher’s Identity Crisis Before Marriage
Just three months before my students graduate, I'm fighting my own senioritis. Getting married and moving to Germany means leaving behind the only adult identity I've ever known.
Two Totaled Cars Taught Me This: Confidence Without Experience Is Just Well-Intentioned Danger
Rules aren't enough. Like my students facing new SOL questions, like me trusting that waving lady in traffic—we need experience plus someone who believes we can drive again. My shoulder injury changed every gym rule I knew. Sometimes the mentor matters more than the method.
My Check Engine Light Won’t Stop—But Neither Will This Teacher’s Christmas Comedy
Teaching Chekhov's comedy while my life feels like Shakespeare's tragedy. Seven dimensions of wellness spinning out of orbit, but Charming and I built a Dickens village anyway. Maybe the genre depends on how we react after the conflict—not the broken car, broken plans, or broken sleep.
When Students Write Bucket Lists and God Writes Mine: A Teacher’s November Rain
My sophomores wrote bucket lists while Bobby McFerrin sang "Don't Worry, Be Happy," but I couldn't stop thinking about my upcoming marriage and Paul's letter to the Philippians. Sometimes the best lesson plans teach the teacher.
My Student Anna: When God Answers Prayers with a Teenage Helper
I prayed for strength to survive losing my second yearbook class. God sent me Anna, a seventeen-year-old who thinks like me and holds up my arms like Moses at the Red Sea. Sometimes prayers are answered in INFJ teenagers.
Young Beauty Taught Me to Freewrite—Then My Niece Asked If I’d Live Far, Far Away
Following my student's advice to let thoughts flow, I ended up crying under pine trees with Katarina. When I explained Auntie La La would live with Charming after the wedding, her chin quivered: 'You mean you're going to live far, far away?' Some Yellow Brick Roads lead us away from those we love.
The Wizard of Oz Skit That Taught Me About Saying Goodbye
Three weeks after getting engaged, I was directing a faculty skit instead of planning my wedding. Here's what playing Dorothy taught me about home, community, and letting go.
Surviving Hurricane Season: When Teaching and Wedding Planning Collide
Engaged to my dream man but drowning in Homecoming prep and yearbook deadlines. Sometimes life's best stories require weathering multiple storms at once.
How Italy Taught Me to Own Every Part of Myself
In Italy, I could be the woman I really am—faith and all. Here's what I learned about going with the flow, embracing interruptions, and finding freedom in flat tires.
Writer's Growth 