What's In My Bag?

In my Foundations of Teaching class, we have been talking a lot about community building and how important it is in a classroom.  Our professor has given us a lot of ideas and games to play the first weeks of school to get the students to know each other and the teacher.  One of these fun activities is called "What's In My Bag?"  It's like show-and-tell, only you have the students bring in items that represent them.  Our professor demonstrated on the first day of class and ever since then, two people bring in their "bag" and show off things that are important to them.  Today was my turn.

I don't have a lot of tangible things that are important to me.  The things that are me are definitely not things I could bring in a bag to school.  So, I made collages.  I got a lot of really great compliments on my presentation and it made me feel really good.  Here is what my "bag" consisted of.

1.  My Family

My family is super important to me.  I have been blessed with the best family in the entire world.  My mom is my best friend, my brother and I have never gotten in a fight, and my dad is pretty much who I look up to and inspires me to be the best.  My big sister is amazing and obviously my step sister is my very best friend in the entire world.  And my new niece is perfect in every way.  I feel so very, very lucky.

2.  My Boyfriend

Once again, I feel so blessed to have him.  He treats me like a princess and is constantly calming me down and making me feel like everything is okay in life, because it is.  I have a tendency to freak out over small things, but he brings me back down to earth.  He tells me I'm beautiful at least once a day.  Today, he came home.  I am in my sweats, a baggy sweatshirt, and have my hair pulled back in a messy bun because it's raining for the first time in months and I felt the need to take full advantage of it.  He told me I look beautiful.  That's the kind of person everyone needs in their life.  Someone who thinks the sun shines out of their butt.  He's amazing.

3.  My Dogs

As I have said many times before, my dogs are like my children.  I love them with my whole heart.  They are always there beside me when I have a bad day.  Milo has the personality of a grumpy old man and that makes me love him even more.  Moe can tell when I am upset and will come and lay with me until I am done being sad.  They're the best.

4.  Fitness

Fitness is my passion.  It's my way of staying sane.  I am obviously obsessed with blogs, but I am also obsessed with finding out every possible thing I can about correct form, best routines, ect.  If I thought I was smart enough to get my PT certificate, I would, but science is hard for me.  

5.  Nature

Going right along with fitness, being active outdoors makes me feel alive.  We don't go outside enough these days with all of the technology and TV.  I love to breathe fresh mountain air, feel the burning in my thighs from climbing hills, and feel the saltwater on my skin at the beach.  I grew up going camping, rafting, and climbing steep hills.  Now those things are just a part of me.

6.  Friends

I know I don't mention them much on here, but I do have them, I swear!  I am a major introvert, but that doesn't stop me from getting crazy from time to time with the besties.  My friends are the most beautiful human beings on the planet.  Each one makes me want to be a better person.  They are always there for me when I need them, and they are always willing to dance like a fool with me.  We also never take ourselves seriously, which is the best part.

7.  Theater

I'm not sure if I've mention the fact that I am a theater junkie much, because that's not what my blog is focused on, but I am.  My mom watched kids after school while I was growing up and she had us do Reader's Theater in the basement for all of our neighborhood to come enjoy.  That grew into me auditioning for local plays.  I took a couple of years off in high school and the beginning of college, but then my relationship ended and I needed something to pull me out of the dark pits of depression I was in.  Theater was the one thing I could think of that had no memories of the relationship, so I went and auditioned.  I didn't get a part, but I was asked to Stage Manage the next musical which happened to be Man of La Mancha.  I fell madly in love.  That led to two seasons of back to back Stage Managing.  Theater and running is really what saved me from myself.  It's how I met the majority of my very good friends.  It's how I met Boyfriend.  

And that's what's in my bag!  

What's in your bag?