work hard, play harder.

As I sit here attempting to write my last 2 required blogs of the summer, I'm finding it difficult to articulate my experience this summer. So here goes the best I've got for now... and both blogs are now contained in this one.

This summer was incredible. I'm not sure I've ever worked this hard at a "real" job in my life (being a camp counselor does not count as a "real" job). I definitely didn't come into this experience expecting it to be as intense as it was. I had no idea what I was getting into even though I'd read parts of both Molly's and Lauryn's blogs. All I knew was that I was going to be myself, do what I do, and hope that that was good enough.

The first few days were pretty tedious, and honestly, I found myself missing Sky Ranch like crazy. But the first weekend rolled around, and AM and I hit up HS to bake cookies at MG's apartment. MG introduced us to more second years, and I finally felt like summer had started. Then the First Years arrived, and life as a MTC intern really started to get fun.

I spent the first month at HSHS, and really, every day brought some sort of new challenge or problem to solve. I'm not sure I ever stopped moving while I was at the school. The first week was definitely the most challenging as PM, ET, MH, and I worked with Joe to create a system for everything from attendance to telling the middle school teachers when lunch was in the least disruptive manner. By the end of June, summer school was more or less a well oiled machine, although most days felt a little rusty. Working up at HSHS gave me the opportunity to see just what it's like running a school and how much work actually goes into (and how much is actually beyond your control). The administrative side is tough, especially when working with the level of competency displayed by those working at the HS and Marshall County Central Offices. I enjoyed sitting in on what few classes I actually got to watch- it was nice to see the lesson plans that I checked every morning in action during the day. Joe was "afraid" of the lunch ladies which meant that I got to tell them when the middle schoolers were coming everyday, and honestly, that became one of the highlights of my day. Copy machine maintenance and repair also fell into the list of things that I learned how to do over the summer as I had the opportunity to learn from Joe- the principal and resident copy machine surgeon. Overall, HSHS was my favorite part of the internship- I loved getting started that early everyday, and I loved the challenges that each day presented.
 
July was a little tedious at WWI and SOE. WWI was the toughest part of the internship for me, but overall, I'm glad that I at least attempted the project (although by any measurable standard, I didn't do much). PM was a trooper during my time at WWI (and SOE) as he watched me hit mental walls on an almost daily basis (that's what happens when I'm not constantly stimulated). He also let me throw sticks at him (sounds harsh but it wasn't- I found some sticks opn the way back from the Union and like any five year old boy I picked them up and then tossed them- in his direction). My time spent at the School of Ed was used to finish my project and make lots of binder and finish stuff up for Ann. Unlike the rest of the interns, I wasn't assigned a daily project at SOE which meant that I ended up doing more random stuff for the First Years and Ann. Looking back I'm glad that I didn't have a set project as I really enjoyed the work I did for Ann and the First Years. The hardest part of my work at SOE was the total lack of stimulation... I really don't do well without a lot to do and often had to get creative to keep myself busy (and prevent myself from hitting walls).

Overall, it was an excellent summer. I loved MVC every afternoon in the hot sun and the evening down time. The weekends were fun- especially the trip to Jackson. And I had the opportunity to see Oxford in a totally different light. Ole Miss is my dream school, and Oxford is, in my opinion, the perfect college town. Being here with people who didn't necessarily go to undergrad at Ole Miss has been a nice change of pace from the regular school year and helped truly separate school from summer (which I was concerned about initially). I'm not gonna lie though- now that summer is done, I'm ready to be back here but as a student and with the people that I began my college journey with. I definitely learned a lot, and hopefully, I'll be back next summer but as a First Year.

- the speakers
    - I would recommend spreading the speakers out over the summer- we heard a bunch at the beginning and then          very few at the end. However, it has been nice to have more free afternoons in July.
    - vary the topics: a little less race/CRM/ desegregation- there are plenty of other issues in the South that deserve         to be heard every now and then besides race.
    - listening to a 4pm speaker for 80 minutes after being up since 5am is a beat down- maybe schedule the speakers        for earlier times.
- the internet
    - vox is fine
    - twitter is not
    - delicious is good if you have a real purpose- being an intern was not a strong enough purpose for my use of this to       be worthwhile
 - project
    - I found the project meetings to be pretty worthless, a weekly email with our progress would accomplished the           same things in a more efficient, less time consuming manner.
    - I enjoyed doing it, but I also really enjoyed my topic
    - presentation info to come later...
- random
    - I vote Joe Sweeney for principal of summer school every year
    - cut down on the number of interns- 8 aren't needed
        - have a permanent intern at HSHS so projects don't switch hands as much (= more efficiency, < chaos)
    - housing should be the same for both June and July
    - switching from HSHS to WWI/Guyton was not that much fun, not sure how to solve this problem
  
- you'll only be as busy as you want to be- if you assert yourself early on, you will never be without things to do (Ann will almost always have some sort of project that needs to be done)
- with the previous note, if you're ever bored, someone (teachers, Ben, Joe, etc.) will have something for you to do
- take notes during the speakers- it'll be easier to write the required blogs later
- if you don't agree with some part of the internship/ something you've been asked to do, talk to Ben about it- solutions can be found to just about any problem
- be flexible- crap happens a lot, especially at HSHS
- no special skills are needed for fixing the copier or the printers- the things are pieces of junk anyway, and you probably can't make things much worse with your attempts to fix them
- get to know the Second Years- after a year of teaching, they definitely have knowledge to impart upon you- soak it up
- get to know the First Years- they're working hard and will be around a month longer than the Second Years- also, if you're interested in the program, the First Years are your potential mentors and Second Years
- play volleyball (assuming Sealand doesn't quit/ slack on his job next summer)- vball is a great way to get to know people and get some fresh air after a long day of work
- explore Oxford- it's a wonderful town and has a lot to offer culturally and historically
- budget for some meals out- Oxford has a plethora of excellent local eateries
- sit in on a first year lesson or two at HSHS- it's a good way to see what's actually going down day in and day out
- if you're interested in teaching/ MTC, peruse a couple of lesson plans too
- visit the Delta (something I wish I had done)

I've had a blast. Thanks for working hard. Thanks for getting your lesson plans in on time... well, most of the time anyway. I enjoyed getting them and looked forward to the humor that many of you included in them. Thanks keeping me busy... I might have lost my mind otherwise. I enjoyed all of it- from finding scissors and staplers at HSHS to copying binders at Guyton. Thanks for keeping me entertained.  I wish everyone of you the best this fall. All of you are ready to take on your new schools. You've been trained: you've learned how to write lesson plans and tests, you've learned how to manage classrooms of unruly students, you've learned how to create something out of nothing. I'm pulling for y'all. I'm excited to hear what the year has in store for each of you on your (semi) weekly trips to Oxford. I can't wait for y'all to experience the "real" Ole Miss, the one that I know and love. I expect each of you to be back here next summer doing what the MTC c/o 2007 did this summer, imparting wisdom upon us all and causing trouble and encouraging fun. Assuming MTC will have me, I'll be back next summer too, only this time as a First Year.