The start of something new

So, this is it.  I'm a college graduate.  There was one day packing up and leaving Transy and unpacking at home in Indy.  There was one day packing and celebrating with family.  There was one red-eye train ride.  There is Memphis. There is Teach For America. Woh. Yeah, this is real life.  It's not some elaborate dream that I'm floating through but real life; a real two year commitment to real students in a real place and I'm here waiting to start.

We've had two (really full) days here so far and it already seems like it's been much longer.  At first it was awkward, it was really awkward, especially since when I met the first of the corp members Monday morning I was groggy and tired after the restless sleep on the train the night before but I was excited.  I was excited to meet people and have a roommate to hang out with and to experience a little of Memphis.  I got my key and to my surprise and disappointed found that I was in a single room, roommate-less.  I took it with a grain of salt and used the rest of the morning to nap in my empty, quiet room.

The first afternoon we met with our Transition Team Leaders (TTL) and played ice-breakers with the rest of our TTL group.  For one of the first times in my life, I was grateful for icebreakers.  It felt like the first day of summer camp and I didn't have any friends from the year before, thankfully I don't think I was alone in that.  We made it through.  We made it through the long sessions on the theory of the problem in the achievement gap and the theories of change.  We made it through the chats with alumni and community leaders at dinners.  We made it through the first, most awkward stages of socializing as a group.  We're making it through, slowly but surely.