Things I’ve Picked Up from Hanging Out with / Being Facebook Friends with College Professors

I have a lot of teacher friends.  Not colleagues or coworkers - friends.  I hang out with them on weekends and watch Packers games with them.  Some are related to me, some by blood and others by marriage, so we share in family gatherings.  And, yeah, we're Facebook friends.  Like anyone, they post about the...

It’s Not Just Me

I had a chance to catch up with a high school friend yesterday. What started as a few random texts and an accidental butt-dial turned into an hour-long conversation catching up on major life events and commiserating about the challenges of adult life. At one point she commented on how nice it was that, even...

Still Growing

Now that we're settled in a more permanent place, I have the task of sorting through all those boxes that have been collecting in storage over the years.  The basic home-living type boxes were unpacked early and quickly.  Those were fun to open - discovering items I'd forgotten that we own, since we hadn't used...

Failure and Flexibility in Intentional Young Adulthood

A friend recently sent me a book recommendation with the comment that she thought of me when she read it because she knew I had "a passion for intentional adulthood."  I don't think I've ever used that exact term before, but it is a good description.  Growing up doesn't just happen.  Careers, education, and success...

Practical Education

"Are you going to teach us how to do taxes?" The question caught me off guard.  Taxes belong in a life-skills or applied mathematics course, not English.  However, I followed her logic and addressed her question.  We were talking about writing resumes (as part of their career research project), and in her mind she associated...

Here’s to Growing Up

I have a 90 minute commute to my new job.  I plan to listen to several audiobooks over the semester, but I didn't have anything with me this week, so I just had the radio and my own thoughts to keep me entertained. Yesterday I introduced the career research project to my students.  I think...

The Facebook Generation

I'm 28 years old, and Facebook belongs to my generation. I joined Facebook as a college student, when it truly was ours and only ours.  All the youth growing up now constantly connected to the internet are following in our footsteps.  In high school, we chatted on AOL Instant Messenger late into the night.  In...

Confessions of a Constant Job-Hunter

I've been job hunting nonstop for four years.  With my nomadic life, whenever I found a job, I always knew it was only a matter of time before I'd have to pack up and leave.  I always wanted to be a step ahead, preparing for the next stop in my travels.  So even as I...

They Grow Up So Fast! …or do they?

I've been reading again, this time following the suggestion of one of my blog readers.  She mentioned a book entitled Escaping the Endless Adolescence by Joseph Allen and Claudia Worrell Allen, and I couldn't ignore the similarities of the title to my blog name.  Obviously, I had to read it.  I checked out a copy...

The Question Marks of Life

Despite the fact that I normally like to mull over my posts for a few days before I publish them, this post isn't getting that treatment.  There isn't time.   In 48 hours I should know where I'm living next year.  In 48 hours, for good or for bad, the anticipation will be over and...