Because I can be a shameless meme whore just like the rest of you... Here's the 5-word meme that's been making the rounds for a wee while.

The 5 Word Meme

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.

And my 5 words, as assigned by laurainlimbo below the cut...



Teaching - Up until a few years ago, if you would have told me that I was going to be a teacher, I would have laughed in your face. I was a horrible student and made my teacher’s lives hell on earth back in the day. It surprised nobody more than me to discover that a career in teaching is where my heart and my passion truly are. It’s only with hindsight that I can see that even though I had some seriously miserable teachers that were only collecting a paycheck and didn’t give a damn, I had some fantastic teachers that were really trying to make a difference in our lives. I’ve come to believe that being a teacher is doing more than simply teaching by rote, more than just regurgitating what’s in the textbook… you have to find a way to connect with and inspire your students. A teacher needs to find a way to make the material come alive… or at least be less dead anyway. I think as a teacher, it will be my job to help prepare them for life outside of a classroom by encouraging them to find their own passions sooner rather than later, to think critically and to think for themselves. I think a teacher has the responsibility as well as the privilege of helping a student learn not just about the subject material but about themselves, about life and also has the opportunity to learn from them as well. I know a lot of people look down their noses at our public school system and though it’s most definitely got its share of problems, I still believe in the good that can be achieved there. I think there are a lot of good teachers out there, more than some would acknowledge that are working hard and trying to make a real difference. I’m sure that some will call me naïve and/or idealistic but honestly, I don’t really care… I aim to be the very best teacher I can be and while I know going in that I won’t reach everybody, that’s not going to stop me from trying.

Politics - It’s sometimes tedious and frustrating, but I find our political system endlessly fascinating. Politics on every level… local, state and federal impacts our everyday lives in many, many ways. Being informed and involved is the only way to try and effect real change. I think too many people would rather sit around and bitch and whine about how screwed up the system is (and it is) rather than roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. The only way we’re going to clean up the system is by getting involved and getting active in our political system and forcing some of these fat-cats to change or to get them out of office. With a national election rate hovering somewhere around 50%... and far less than that for state/local elections, we have way too few people voting let alone getting involved. If we the people rose up and actually started getting involved en masse, we would start seeing some real changes and perhaps even our will being obeyed by the politicians…who are our employees! Dare to dream, huh?

Tornadoes – Some of the most awesome and powerful forces of nature. And like politics, something I find endlessly fascinating. The unpredictability of tornadoes is just freakish… how they can hit house A and B, skip house C and then hit house D. It’s completely random. But so incredibly fascinating. Once I am completely done with my credentialing, before I start teaching, I will be going on a tornado chasing tour. I am absolutely dying to get as close to one of these beasts as I can. Seeing a massive tornado up close and personal is something I am absolutely looking forward to.

Writing – Writing has been an outlet for me for as long as I can remember. It allows me to get out what I need to get out and express myself. I enjoy writing fiction the most. Being able to create people and places, to build stories around them is something I find immensely enjoyable. It was actually Dean Koontz many, many years ago that first exposed me to the wonder and power of writing. (I’ve long since stopped reading Koontz but that’s another story for another time) I was about 14 or so I guess and was reading one of his books and found that through the written word, he was able to evoke a wide assortment of emotions from me. I like to think that since then, my taste in writers has improved though I will admit to still occasionally enjoying the brain-candy kind of book (just not by Koontz). But it was that experience that led me to begin considering writing… being able to evoke thought and emotion through a story is a fantastic thing. Creating a new world from the ground up is a really enjoyable (though sometimes frustrating) thing. I hope to one day have the time to really devote to improving my craft and then who knows, maybe I’ll get to see something of mine on a shelf at my local bookstore. That’d be a kick in the ass. My writing has also branched out into different areas… into blogging as well as journaling. I blog on various sites and also keep this here nifty LiveJournal. Being able to just pour out whatever is on my mind at the time is something I enjoy. I tend to blog a lot about politics or current events but also about more personal topics and also the randomly bizarre and meaningless. I’ve also recently began going back to something I used to do a lot of when I was younger and that’s keeping a paper journal… it’s in there that I keep my most intensely personal thoughts. When I need to really get something out of my head, the physical act of putting pen to paper helps me get rid of whatever is floating around up there and just release it. So writing to me encompasses many things… the act of creation, evoking thought and feeling, conveying information, discussion of current events and even therapy. It is a necessity to me.

Facebook – The Facebook site has been really interesting. It’s allowed me to reconnect with old friends… people I haven’t seen in eons. It has totally tripped me out how some people have thought to look for me on there after so long. It’s allowed me to stay current with people in my life right now and it’s allowed me to make new friends, which is always a welcome thing. It can definitely be a time suck sometimes, but I’ve enjoyed reconnecting with some people immensely. I resisted signing up for Facebook for quite some time, but I’m really glad that I finally gave in to the peer pressure.

Happy Hump Day boys and girls! I hope you've all had an excellent... or at least tolerable week! And just think... the week is half over and Friday is right around the corner now!!!