Induction sounds like it would be cultish and freaky and definitely not something I wanted to sit through. I’m awful at large-group getting-to-know-you activities, I hate icebreakers, and I didn’t want to stay at a hotel when my apartment is so close to Cleveland that I could have just commuted in every day.

It turns out that induction is a valuable experience that I’m in the process of actually enjoying. I’m still not great at meeting people, especially in groups this size, but somehow the share your deepest darkest motivations for joining the movement thing actually worked out – it’s like they’ve done this before, or something.

The only problem is that I’m already so tired. On Monday I graduated from college (with highest honors!) and on Tuesday I had to move out of my college house by 10am. At 9:51am I got an email saying I have a job for next year, and by 4pm I was at the hotel for induction.

I’ll be teaching elementary kids (something K-3) at the Village Preparatory School, and I got to visit the school today and observe classes for the second time. The first was when I was able to interview in person, but now it feels so much less abstract. My school has a c0-teacher model so I’ll be teaching in a room with an experienced teacher, and all of the classroom management strategies exist on a school-wide level so that students can have consistent structure. In my interview the head of school asked me how I felt about having management strategies imposed on me, and I told her that I love that idea because I don’t actually know anything about classroom management.

It’s been great to meet other people who are teaching in the same school as me, and I’m realizing how incredibly lucky I am to have a placement at this point. I had one interview and it went well and I got it, but some people in this corps have had three or more unsuccessful interviews. I can’t even imagine how frustrating that must be.

This crazy transition from graduation to job offer to induction is a little energy-sucking and I have a weekend at home that will probably be spent packing before flying to Phoenix. I’ve had so many amazing conversations so far here that I honestly didn’t think I would ever be able to have with almost-strangers, and I’m continually impressed with the way TFA has team-building down to a science.

I leave you with the following link so that you can turn your students into global citizens by wearing $35 leggings that look like a map: http://www.modcloth.com/shop/pants/mapped-crusader-leggings

You’re welcome. And probably a little confused.