Student Teaching

So these past few weeks I have been student teaching in the Jordan School District at Riverton Elementary. I was in a first grade class with 22 kids and loved them all to death. Today was my last day in that class and I about cried when I left they hugged me to death, "kidnapped" me and told me that I was not allowed to leave. I wanted to stay so badly but I couldn't because it was time to go. Before I left my students gave me some notes and I would like to share them with you.

First off, I on the front of a card was this:

Miss Buxton is Missing!!

 

Dear Blank Please Blank

I found this note today on this website. I think it describes how I feel about snow.

      

Dear snow,

Unless you are enough to get me out of school, then we have nothing to say to each other. 

                                        
              
                                                          Sincerely, frustrated student.

2010: What I learned and I experienced

2010 is a year that I will never forget. It had its ups and downs and lefts and rights. 

In January, I started the second semester of the Elementary Education program at BYU. I also celebrated my 21st birthday by going to in-n-out at midnight, breakfast in bed, and a cupcake party where we made over 320 cupcakes! 


In February,my roommates Cami and Kirsten along with my brothers Matt and Jeff and I went down to Las Vegas for President's Day Weekend. We went to the Strip, shopping at the Outlets, and visited the beautiful  Las Vegas Temple. It a crazy weekend, but I loved it because it was warm and I was with people that I loved.


In March, I started my first practicum for the Elementary Education program. I was in a first grade at an elementary school in American Fork, Ut. Those kids taught me so much! They taught me to love others unconditionally, to respect myself, and how to keep trying, even if something is really hard. 


In April, I did not pack up and leave like most BYU students. I decided to stay for Spring Term to play, work, and take classes. It was an amazing experience because I got to meet so many people and just have fun while I was at BYU and not stress about classes 24/7.


In May, I joined my ward's kickball team and we made it to the finals! Wahoo! I also got to spend some time at my aunt and uncle's house in Gunnison, Utah going four-wheeling and helping clean out my grandparent's freezer that had stopped working a few days earlier.


In June, I moved back to Las Vegas and said good-bye to my brother Jeff because he left on a LDS mission to Scotland. I also started working for the 4th summer in a row, at Bernhard and Williams Photography. 

In July, I spent most of the month with my brother Corey. When I was not working, I was spending my time with him. However, he died suddenly on July 22nd and that has forever changed me as a person. I have learned to get to know everyone around me because everyone has a story that they want to share and everyone is different and that is okay. My brother was a friend to all no matter what shape, color, or size. That is what I am trying to do and I am sorry if I have ever offended you or anybody, so I am sorry,  but I am trying to be better and love everyone!

In August, I moved back to Provo for my senior year at BYU. It was about the hardest thing I ever had to do because I went from being at home where people understood or was conscious of what I was going through to barely anything at all. I also left my parents constant and they were one of the greatest strengths during this time. 


In September, I went to several outdoor concerts in Provo onto of a rooftop of a parking garage. They were amazing and were something I needed to get me out of the house and meet new people. 


In October, my brother Matt and I were able to go home for a weekend. It was something that we both needed. I was able to get recharged for the rest of the semester and to be at home, which is always amazing. 


In November, I started my second practicum, this time in Orem, Utah in a 5th grade class. This class came from homes that were broken (single parents, poor, parents using drugs, neglecting their children). It became very evident through the month that I was there. The students were struggling and just did not show any respect to any adult. It was heart wrenching, but made me appreciative of where I grew up and the parents that I have. I also was able to go home Thanksgiving and during the break, my family was able to do the Temple work for my brother Corey. I was not able to be in the session because I am not endowed, but I was able to do baptisms for the dead and I knew Corey was there that day because I felt him all around me.

In December, I sat through my last class at BYU and took my last set of finals! It was an odd feeling to be done with those feelings because those things were a part of my life for so long. Matt and I were able to come home for Christmas and we were able to talk to my brother Jeff for 2 hours over Skype. It was so neat to see him and talk him because I miss talking to him on a daily basis. Further, my mom and several ladies in my home ward took my brothers' shirts and made them into quilts for myself, Matt, Jeff, and my parents. Those quilts will always be precious to me because I have part of Corey with me. 




2010 was a great year and I learned and experienced a lot. Those experiences have made me a better person and I hope I can always remember the lessons that I have learned.

If You Could Hie to Kolob

This weekend I went to Zion, Kolob Canyon to be exact. My family and I were able to talk with rangers who were on the search and rescue team that found my brother's body. We were also able to visit the exact spot of where my brother's body was found. Some of you may think that I was crazy or insane to do this. During my drive down there, there were some times that I thought I was too. I knew it was going to be hard and challenging, but it was just something that I needed to do. It was somewhere where I needed to go. I needed to be there and that is all that I can say. This experienced allowed me to see and experiences some of the conditions that my brother faced as he was hiking, but it allowed me to spend time with my parents and to allow some of the healing that needed to take place. All I can say now is that Zion will always be a special place.

As I reflect upon this experience, the hymn, "If You Could Hie to Kolob" comes to my mind. The lyrics state my feelings and thoughts better than I can. 

1. If you could hie to Kolob
In the twinkling of an eye,
And then continue onward
With that same speed to fly,
Do you think that you could ever,
Through all eternity,
Find out the generation
Where Gods began to be?

2. Or see the grand beginning,
Where space did not extend?
Or view the last creation,
Where Gods and matter end?
Methinks the Spirit whispers,
"No man has found 'pure space,'
Nor seen the outside curtains,
Where nothing has a place."

3. The works of God continue,
And worlds and lives abound;
Improvement and progression
Have one eternal round.
There is no end to matter;
There is no end to space;
There is no end to spirit;
There is no end to race.

4. There is no end to virtue;
There is no end to might;
There is no end to wisdom;
There is no end to light.
There is no end to union;
There is no end to youth;
There is no end to priesthood;
There is no end to truth.

5. There is no end to glory;
There is no end to love;
There is no end to being;
There is no death above.
There is no end to glory;
There is no end to love;
There is no end to being;
There is no death above.

Text: William W. Phelps, 1792-1872

A Day in the Life of Me According to my Roommates

Last night my roommates and I had to introduce ourselves at ward prayer, so we all wrote the "Dail in the Life of......" They are hilarious! Here it goes:

Michelle wakes up really early, and no one knows why. She is usually gone before everyone else wakes up. Then she goes and teaches 5th grade students at Westmore Elementary in a far away land called Orem, Utah. She loves teaching and her students so much that she'll even wear black and orange pumpkin pajama pants to school. After school, she usually comes home and takes a nap or reads an LDS historical fiction novel. She waits for Heidi (one of my roommates) to get home from school so they can talk about blogging or cool history Youtube videos. Then bugs Heidi for about 3 hours, and gets her to procrastinate her homework. After she bothers Heidi, she eats a rewarding piece of toast with nutella and checks the mail-She usually gets really sad when someone else does it. She usually tells her roommates that she has no friends, but her phone goes off almost a million times a day. She plans lessons like Bill Nye the Science Guy and talks about things that are "tender to her heart." After all this is done, she packs her lunch, complains how cold Utah is, and goes to bed really early.

The End

I Finally Got It!!!

I finally got a picture with Cosmo!! After 4 years at BYU, I got a picture with Cosmo! He came to the school that I am student teaching at. It is not the best picture, but I got one! 

 

Make a New List

So let's be honest, my life hasn't gone the way that I planned it would. I wanted a sister, did I get one, nope but now I am so happy to have the brothers that I do. I thought finding a job would be easy once I graduated, wrong again. I thought my brother would be found this summer, but nope that didn't turn out either. Things according to me haven't worked out how I wanted them to. Yesterday in one of my classes we had a guest presenter who has a son, Reed, who has down syndrome. She talked to us about his life and all of the things and then she told us this story: 

"She told us about Reed when he was serving his mission. Ever since Reed was 16, he has loved going on dates, and always has a list of girls he wants to date. He served his mission at the Orem institute. The first day he came home, he showed his mom a list of all the girls he wanted to date. She chuckled and said, "you need to focus on your mission. Your mission is two years, and these girls will probably graduate or get married and won't be around after your mission."
"That's ok," Reed replied. "I'll make a new list then"

Life doesn't always go the way you plan it. And that is ok. It's ok to make a new list.

It made me think, all I need to do is make a new list, set some new goals, and continue to move on with life. That is what I have been trying to do and so far it has helped. My new goal in life is to continually make a new list then if things do not turn out how I expected. 

One last quote, "If things aren't working out then they haven't finished working out, yet." Dr. Tuttle