I got the job!

I am so excited and also really nervous. I got the job I interviewed for last week. I will be teaching AP (Advanced Placement) Physics at Windham Highschool, starting this Monday!

It is what I really wanted, but the semester is already 4 weeks in, and I haven't even met the kids yet! They have to take the AP exam in May, so I need to get them ready for that, and I am starting everything from scratch. I was lucky enough to have a friend share all of her AP Physics materials with me - all her presentations, assessment, assignments, etc. That is a huge help. Still, I have to get familiar with everything by Monday, get organized, learn the school's platforms, and hit the ground running. Not to mention that this will be my first time ever teaching my own classroom.

The kids in my class will be high school juniors and seniors. I really look forward to meeting them. I like that age group a lot.

I'm going to work really hard to be ready and do well by them. Hopefully I won't burn myself out worrying about all the what if's and all the unknowns, of which there are so many...

A while ago, I wrote in my journal "Physics is the door to wonderland". So I try to remember that, and think of how exciting it is to have this opportunity to share it with others, and let that mitigate some of the stress I am feeling right now.

Peace

Before the tumult

 

Early morning

Silence of dawn -

I sit alone,

Though I share this moment with you,

Before I plunge into the tumult of the world

-rm

~~~

And some news: today I have an interview for an AP Physics teacher position in Windham. I'm excited and a bit nervous....

Peace

Things as they are

Things as they are: 

There's nothing holier than that

-rm

And I also wanted to share this article , just published in yes! magazine, which features Sena's work, among other activists. I love this quote from the article:

"Climate is not just an environmental issue, according to youth activists. It’s also a racial justice issue, an economic issue, and an access-to-health care issue."

The opening

 

I fell in love with you

And when it didn't work 

I fell in love with 

Everything 

-rm

Eventually, we find out that some people's role in our lives is simply to open something in us; to awaken us such that we fall in love with everything; with life itself, in all its beauty and messiness.

This is not a Hollywood kind of love; it is a much grittier and much more delicate kind of love; a down to earth and a sublime kind of love. A real and always available kind of love.

Peace

The intimate dance of seer and the seen

 

The intimate dance of seer and the seen:

Though it is right in front of you

What you see

Is not what you are seeing;

Seeing itself is the art

That changes everything;

Refine your art

Refine your state of being 

What you perceive will change

Though what you see will stay the same

Sena invited at an announcement by the Attorney General of CT

Yesterday, Sena and her co-director Mitch from Sunrise CT, were invited to be present at an announcement made by the Attorney General of Connecticut.

The announcement was an exciting one: Connecticut is suing ExxonMobil for knowingly engaging in practices that are proven to be detrimental to the environment and worsening climate change.

Accountability is important.

It is time. It is passed time.

As you can see from the pics above, Sena has an Instagram account where you can follow her if you are interested in her work and activism.

Peace

The banquet

Until we are ready to see The banquet will be laid before us And yet We will be starving -rm How do we become ready? Our lives take care of that, through all our good and bad experiences. All we need to do is pay attention and be present.

Some moments

 

Some moments I remember

Are so beautiful

Like sea glass 

And also dangerous

At any instant I could cut myself

Start bleeding

Once again

The language of light

But the most intimate conversations 

Have no need for words

No template

Story of my life:

I was given a template 

And told to fill in the details 

But I've always preferred 

A more non-linear story 

At the intersection

The question is not

What your identity is

But rather 

What lies at the intersection

Of all the identities your embody

At any given moment

-rm

We've been doing some workshops on identity and culture as part of our professional development this past week in school, which I really enjoyed, and which prompted me to write this poem.

Speaking of this past week: it's good to find out what doesn't work. I found that working both at school and on the farm (even though most of what I'm doing on the farm these days is interacting with customers online) is not sustainable for me. And so, I will pass on more of the farm responsibility to our worker Dan, and see how it balances out.

I hope you have a great weekend and enjoy this beautiful weather.

Self sown

Where the old structure used to stand

Wildflowers now grow wild Self sown Among the ruins