A Kenzie Randall Story

I know it's been a few weeks since Christmas Break but I still feel in Christmas break mode (aka really lazy) so I'm not too far behind. We had a really great break filled with family and friends and food and fun. I finished up my 7th semester at Utah State. I really can't believe that I'm almost a college graduate. Why do I still feel like a child and why do I still feel so unprepared for the real world? haha. But this was my favorite semester of all time. I had 2 of my all time favorite classes- Teaching Literature (Dr. Gunsberg is THE BEST teacher ever. I learned (and laughed) so much) and Literacy in Diverse Classrooms (Sonia is also the best. She brought us food every week and has so many great teaching ideas.) I literally had every single class with Jocelyn which was really awesome. I'm so thankful for the friends I've made here at Utah State. I will keep saying that until the day I die because I am just so lucky!  We went on a hike ...

The students shuffle into room 301 Their excited chatter expands throughout  the room, drifting toward the windows and  the bookshelves that hold all great ideas.  They’re bright and beautiful as they share  their lives with me. Six hours a day of  learning to write together- which is really  just learning to live, grow, and love  t ogether. We don’t really care about the  definition of a noun but we care a whole lot  about following dreams and understanding  the world. But I no longer shuffle into room 301 as my  gaze drifts out the clouded window up to  the familiar “A” that towers above Old  Main. I don't hear endearing, identifiable  laughter as my favorite colleagues turned  best friends report homework mishaps and  weekend plans. We used to spend hours  discussing teaching strategies and fantastic  young adult novels. ...