I’m one of those people. You know them — the people who start blogs, write a few times and then disappear forever. I’ve got the half written journals and abandoned sketchbooks to prove it.

Its three months later, Institute is just a memory (and like all memories, I just can’t remember how impossible it felt) and I am a teacher. A real teacher. A teacher with 26 students and a planner full of meetings and a solid 7 hours a night of sleep.

I wish Institute me could see me now.

Here’s the truth: Institute and the real world of teaching are distant cousins. They talk occasionally but really don’t have a lot in common. Institute is always high strung and does things the hard way and real world just wants to relax, you know?

Real world teaching doesn’t follow a lesson plan template or have to put together a classroom in two hours (I had six days, thank you very much. Six whole days and I would’ve have had 10 without orientation).

Real world teaching doesn’t run her ideas by five different people or have to role play lessons and she’s found that you can plan a weeks worth of lessons in 3 hours when you can do your own thing.

I’m totally in love with real world teaching.

And just imagine my surprise: I found cicadas and decent coffee (maybe better than decent) and patios are just like front porches if you use some imagination.

Imagination, baby, that’s my specialty.