In August, we moved out to the "Southern" state that is Kentucky. We've now been here about four months and I would like to share a little bit of my experience so far. For those of you that need a small update, Molly and I moved out here for her to attend Asbury Seminary. I am currently subbing in the county and am looking for a full time education position.
The Good:
Kentucky is a beautiful state. Everything is green, there are rolling hills with huge houses, barns, and cattle, and it actually rains here! I'm still not used to moisture, but it's such a blessing. I don't think they know how lucky they are to live in an area with regular precipitation.
Asbury Seminary is the bomb diggity. No, seriously, it's awesome. I wasn't sure how I would fit in with the community, being the male who is NOT taking classes. Normally, the man takes classes and the wife stays at home with the kids or works. This made me nervous, but the community has been so welcoming to both of us. We have made some awesome friends and continue to meet new people all the time. It's really helped me being able to play intramural sports here. I played basketball and volleyball, befriending my teammates and becoming more comfortable with my surroundings. These people are such a blessing to Molly and I.
God provides. Man, oh man, does He provide. We're trying really hard to break even with our little bit of income. Molly is able to work part time at the seminary and I'm a sub that never knows when he's going to work. Last month, Molly figured out that I needed to work so many days for us to break even. I ended up working that exact amount! How crazy is that? Molly has been very fortunate to receive scholarships from many different donors, which has been awesome. My home church also surprised me when they all of a sudden told me that they wanted to support Molly and I during our time at seminary! Seriously, God has just been so good to us. We know that this is where He wants us.
The Bad:
Obviously we're not very close to Kansas anymore. Mulvane is about 13 hours away and Holcomb is around 17 hours away, so we aren't exactly able to go see our family over the weekends. That's definitely a bummer. We love being able to celebrate birthdays, holidays, etc. with our family. It's nice to have technology, like Skype, to be able to see them. We actually skyped with my family for a bit while they were celebrating Thanksgiving. We were able to see the whole crew!
The same goes for our friends back home. We grew very close to our friends at college. We still talk a lot, but again, we can't go hang out like we used to. I realize that even if we were in Kansas, we probably wouldn't be able to see them much because we'd all be so busy, but it would be nice to be closer. I guess we'll all just have to live in a cul-de-sac when get back. We can grow old together!
The Ugly:
Subbing is a very interesting job. Some days are awesome, some days can be ok, and other days can be just plain miserable. Luckily, I've only had a couple miserable days. Most days are ok. I can get through them and do what I need to do. Obviously, there's no consistency with being a sub, traveling from school to school and moving to new classes, so I'm not really able to build relationships with the kids, which is exactly what I want to do. I won't lie, it's rough. I want to be a full time teacher and to have my own classes where I can get to know my kids and they can get to know me. I just pray that someday God will bless me with a great job, which I know He will when the time comes.
This could go as a bad or ugly, but I decided on ugly. I'm living in SEC country. Bama fans, Florida fans, Tennessee fans, Kentucky fans. Not the best for a Big XII guy. Luckily, the people that I've met are respectable fans. We can talk sports and keep the conversation under control. I have a couple that I can argue with, but it's more of a fun debate. We both know that. Fellow K-Staters, don't worry, I still wear just as much of my K-State here that I did in Kansas. Gotta represent!
Anybody who lives, or has lived, in Kentucky can back me up on this one. Kentucky drivers are awful! I can't tell you how many times I've laid on the horn because someone has either cut me off, almost hit me, or just isn't paying attention at the stop light. It's ridiculous. There's an unspoken rule here to wait a couple seconds when your light turns green to pull out. People here run red lights like they've just committed murder. Gracious.
There you have it. Kyle's good, bad, and ugly of Kentucky. I'm sure I'll have more to come, but that's what I have for the first few months. Over and out.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Big, Big, BIG Steps
A lot has happened in the past few months. Some things stressful and some exciting. Let's take a look back at what's happened, considering it's been a while since I've blogged.
April - After turning in my KPTP (Student teaching portfolio needed to pass/graduate), I got my results back and missed passing by a few points. - Stressful
Early May - Graduated on the 5th with a B.S. in Physical Education. - Exciting
Late May - Edited my KPTP, turned it back in, and passed. - Stressful/Exciting
Late May - Begin working at the Holcomb school district as maintenance for the summer. Not my favorite kind of work, but it's a job. - Ehh...exciting
Early June - Marriage!!! On June 9, I married that wonderful girl, Molly Komlofske, who is now Molly Just! We took our honeymoon to Estes Park for a week and it was a great time! - Exciting!
July - Take my PLT and PE Content Knowledge tests. I have to pass these tests to become a certified teacher. - Stressful
August - Begin preparations for the move to Kentucky! Stressful/Exciting
Those were the big things. There were also another 5 or 6 weddings that Molly and I attended or were in. So much love in the air! We were very excited to be a part of some of our friends' big days, though!
Well, we made the trek out to Wilmore, Kentucky on Monday. We loaded up a Uhaul, Molly's dad's pickup, my car, and Molly's car, and drove 13 hours out with my parents and Molly's dad. We took a couple days to get everything unloaded and organized, then luckily for us, our parents were willing to help us out with some much needed supplies. Shoutout to our awesome parents!
Our parents are now back in Kansas and we're here...at Asbury Seminary...just the two of us. It's definitely a weird transition. For the past 4 years we have moved into our Southwestern apartments with our friends who we would be living with for the next 9 months or so. Now it's just us in a big ol' apartment. I will say that I enjoy having my wife as my new roommate! She takes care of me. What a gal!
We're now at the point where Molly is waiting around for classes to start and I'm looking for a job. Classes start in early September for her. She is taking 12 credit hours and we just found out that she has a part-time job lined up. Praise the Lord! I have applied for every PE and intervention position in the area, but no luck. I've done more research to see if anything would get me by, but nothing has really fit the bill yet. Subbing may be the route I'll take, but again, I'm just looking around and seeing what's available.
We ask that you all would pray for us as we continue our journey out here. We are very excited for everything that God has in store, but at the same time we are a bit nervous. We know God will provide, which He already has in different ways since we've been here.
That's a wrap! I'll try to do a better job of updating you all. Until next time...bbbdaa bbbdaa bbbdaa that's all folks!
April - After turning in my KPTP (Student teaching portfolio needed to pass/graduate), I got my results back and missed passing by a few points. - Stressful
Early May - Graduated on the 5th with a B.S. in Physical Education. - Exciting
Late May - Edited my KPTP, turned it back in, and passed. - Stressful/Exciting
Late May - Begin working at the Holcomb school district as maintenance for the summer. Not my favorite kind of work, but it's a job. - Ehh...exciting
Early June - Marriage!!! On June 9, I married that wonderful girl, Molly Komlofske, who is now Molly Just! We took our honeymoon to Estes Park for a week and it was a great time! - Exciting!
July - Take my PLT and PE Content Knowledge tests. I have to pass these tests to become a certified teacher. - Stressful
August - Begin preparations for the move to Kentucky! Stressful/Exciting
Those were the big things. There were also another 5 or 6 weddings that Molly and I attended or were in. So much love in the air! We were very excited to be a part of some of our friends' big days, though!
Well, we made the trek out to Wilmore, Kentucky on Monday. We loaded up a Uhaul, Molly's dad's pickup, my car, and Molly's car, and drove 13 hours out with my parents and Molly's dad. We took a couple days to get everything unloaded and organized, then luckily for us, our parents were willing to help us out with some much needed supplies. Shoutout to our awesome parents!
Our parents are now back in Kansas and we're here...at Asbury Seminary...just the two of us. It's definitely a weird transition. For the past 4 years we have moved into our Southwestern apartments with our friends who we would be living with for the next 9 months or so. Now it's just us in a big ol' apartment. I will say that I enjoy having my wife as my new roommate! She takes care of me. What a gal!
We're now at the point where Molly is waiting around for classes to start and I'm looking for a job. Classes start in early September for her. She is taking 12 credit hours and we just found out that she has a part-time job lined up. Praise the Lord! I have applied for every PE and intervention position in the area, but no luck. I've done more research to see if anything would get me by, but nothing has really fit the bill yet. Subbing may be the route I'll take, but again, I'm just looking around and seeing what's available.
We ask that you all would pray for us as we continue our journey out here. We are very excited for everything that God has in store, but at the same time we are a bit nervous. We know God will provide, which He already has in different ways since we've been here.
That's a wrap! I'll try to do a better job of updating you all. Until next time...bbbdaa bbbdaa bbbdaa that's all folks!
Monday, February 6, 2012
What I Learned In School
Last week was my first week of actual teaching for student teaching. During my first few weeks, I did a lot of observing, learning, and making sure students stay on task. I then took over full control of every P.E. class last week. Everything went really well, but I did learn a few things from it. Let's take a look:
1) You always know when students understand the game or not. Their facial expressions say it all. If they get it, they normally show excitement or joy. If they don't, then there's the "I'm so confused" look. Some are just priceless.
2) Kids get excited for P.E. It's nice not having to worry about the kids that don't want to participate, because almost every kid loves P.E. Makes my job so much easier.
3) There's a lot of whining in P.E. For part of our warm-up, we run the length of the court and back a few times. Occasionally, some kids don't run or they don't go all the way to the end. I continue to run them until they figure it out and then, of course, they whine to me. "Mr. Just, are we done yet?" "Mr. Just, when are we gonna play the game?" That's normally when I tell them what they're doing wrong, but I like to see if they can figure it out first.
4) Along with the whining, there's a lot of crying. There's not a day that goes by where a kid doesn't cry. What's really sad is that they cry over the smallest stuff. They will trip and cry. They bump into another kid and cry. We even played a type of dodgeball, using the soft, foam dodgeballs. I watched a kid get hit in the side of the face, ball going maybe 3 mph, and he cried. They'll find some toughness eventually.
5) If you come to public school, you must be potty trained, right? Well, yes, but that doesn't prevent the peeing of the pants. My kindergarten class was playing tag, when all of a sudden, a kid starts bawling. I asked him what was wrong and he yelled out, "I peed my pants!!!" Caught me completely off guard. He was sent to the bathroom, then the office to call his mom. Goodness.
6) Remember those kids that always got on your nerves because they were so athletic and absolutely hated losing? I have a few of those. One in particular needs a reality check. He is very athletic, but has to have everything his way and can't lose. Boy, oh boy, is he in for a surprise in junior high.
Those are the big things that come to mind. Even though kids can sometimes get on my nerves, I love teaching. I love watching kids mature and learn new things. I just hope someday I'll have the full experience of being an actual P.E. teacher, instead of just a student teacher. I can't wait to have that little name plate on the outside of my door that says "Mr. Just. Physical Education." Ah yes, I'm looking forward to that day.
1) You always know when students understand the game or not. Their facial expressions say it all. If they get it, they normally show excitement or joy. If they don't, then there's the "I'm so confused" look. Some are just priceless.
2) Kids get excited for P.E. It's nice not having to worry about the kids that don't want to participate, because almost every kid loves P.E. Makes my job so much easier.
3) There's a lot of whining in P.E. For part of our warm-up, we run the length of the court and back a few times. Occasionally, some kids don't run or they don't go all the way to the end. I continue to run them until they figure it out and then, of course, they whine to me. "Mr. Just, are we done yet?" "Mr. Just, when are we gonna play the game?" That's normally when I tell them what they're doing wrong, but I like to see if they can figure it out first.
4) Along with the whining, there's a lot of crying. There's not a day that goes by where a kid doesn't cry. What's really sad is that they cry over the smallest stuff. They will trip and cry. They bump into another kid and cry. We even played a type of dodgeball, using the soft, foam dodgeballs. I watched a kid get hit in the side of the face, ball going maybe 3 mph, and he cried. They'll find some toughness eventually.
5) If you come to public school, you must be potty trained, right? Well, yes, but that doesn't prevent the peeing of the pants. My kindergarten class was playing tag, when all of a sudden, a kid starts bawling. I asked him what was wrong and he yelled out, "I peed my pants!!!" Caught me completely off guard. He was sent to the bathroom, then the office to call his mom. Goodness.
6) Remember those kids that always got on your nerves because they were so athletic and absolutely hated losing? I have a few of those. One in particular needs a reality check. He is very athletic, but has to have everything his way and can't lose. Boy, oh boy, is he in for a surprise in junior high.
Those are the big things that come to mind. Even though kids can sometimes get on my nerves, I love teaching. I love watching kids mature and learn new things. I just hope someday I'll have the full experience of being an actual P.E. teacher, instead of just a student teacher. I can't wait to have that little name plate on the outside of my door that says "Mr. Just. Physical Education." Ah yes, I'm looking forward to that day.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Thoughts from the Weight Room
As most of you know, I work at the weight room on campus. I basically get paid to sit at a desk and goof around for a few hours. I'm here just in case someone gets hurt, weights break, or something like that. That never really happens, so I stay at my desk for a good chunk of time. I feel like sharing my thoughts as I sit in this green chair of despair. Here goes:
-There are a lot of people that come in and don't do anything. How about you guys go home? I can't hear my music.
-I know weights are heavy, but there's not much need to drop them from above your head.
-If you want to bring crazy, heavy metal, scream-o or vulgar rap, why can't you just use your headphones? Not everyone wants to hear your crappy music, especially me.
-People watch interesting things while they workout. Is Rachel Ray motivational or something?
-Cheerleaders are loud, especially in an enclosed room that echoes.
-You won't build much muscle or burn calories if you do one set, then sit around for five minutes. Pick up the pace a bit, Paco.
-Is it really that hard to rack your weights?!?! This bugs me the most. Almost every person that works out in here will leave their weights when they're done. Drives me nuts!!! It's like anything else. If you use it, PUT IT AWAY!!!
Have a wonderful Thursday evening, everyone!
-There are a lot of people that come in and don't do anything. How about you guys go home? I can't hear my music.
-I know weights are heavy, but there's not much need to drop them from above your head.
-If you want to bring crazy, heavy metal, scream-o or vulgar rap, why can't you just use your headphones? Not everyone wants to hear your crappy music, especially me.
-People watch interesting things while they workout. Is Rachel Ray motivational or something?
-Cheerleaders are loud, especially in an enclosed room that echoes.
-You won't build much muscle or burn calories if you do one set, then sit around for five minutes. Pick up the pace a bit, Paco.
-Is it really that hard to rack your weights?!?! This bugs me the most. Almost every person that works out in here will leave their weights when they're done. Drives me nuts!!! It's like anything else. If you use it, PUT IT AWAY!!!
Have a wonderful Thursday evening, everyone!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Who are these people?
College is coming to an end and everyone is looking for new places to start their life. As most of you know, Molly and I will be moving out to Kentucky for three years for Molly to study at Asbury Seminary.
My roommates are all getting away, too. Chad is looking to move to Florida to be close to his girlfriend, Katie, and to start looking for a job. He really has no idea what he wants to do. Lucas just got accepted to Yale for grad school. He was pretty pumped when he read that email. Zach applied to Wichita State for P.A. school and hasn't heard anything from them yet, but he'll be doing some great things.
Krista, a great friend from PT, is now in Madrid, Spain to study abroad for a few months. She'll be learning so much about the language and culture over there and will have a great time.
It's weird to think that my friends are all moving to far away places for a higher education or to start working. I never thought I would be moving to Kentucky for three years. I never thought Lucas would get accepted into Yale (not saying he's not smart enough. It's just Yale). We're all getting ready to start a new journey in our lives.
God has blessed us with amazing friends and wonderful gifts. He has a plan for every single one of us and is leading us to places way beyond our own plan. I'm very excited to be moving somewhere new and just as excited for all my friends moving to new places, too. It will be weird not seeing everybody near as much, but it's so cool seeing God use us to further His kingdom.
My roommates are all getting away, too. Chad is looking to move to Florida to be close to his girlfriend, Katie, and to start looking for a job. He really has no idea what he wants to do. Lucas just got accepted to Yale for grad school. He was pretty pumped when he read that email. Zach applied to Wichita State for P.A. school and hasn't heard anything from them yet, but he'll be doing some great things.
Krista, a great friend from PT, is now in Madrid, Spain to study abroad for a few months. She'll be learning so much about the language and culture over there and will have a great time.
It's weird to think that my friends are all moving to far away places for a higher education or to start working. I never thought I would be moving to Kentucky for three years. I never thought Lucas would get accepted into Yale (not saying he's not smart enough. It's just Yale). We're all getting ready to start a new journey in our lives.
God has blessed us with amazing friends and wonderful gifts. He has a plan for every single one of us and is leading us to places way beyond our own plan. I'm very excited to be moving somewhere new and just as excited for all my friends moving to new places, too. It will be weird not seeing everybody near as much, but it's so cool seeing God use us to further His kingdom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)