It's interesting to see how people have different views on things. I guess it comes with the different experiences that you have during life.

I was at a friend's place tonight and we were talking about certain topics.... for example, for people who have gone shopping with me before will know that I'm a person that is very picky and will only choose things that are resonably cheap - even if it suits me or looks really good - and are mostly no name brands. But my friends will choose things because they look good and worry about the price later and are branded. For me, I don't understand why people need to buy such expensive things when there are exactly or very similar products on the market for much cheaper! I know you want to keep up to date with the fashion and want to look good but why complain about 'having no money' yet still spend ridiculous amount on things that aren't really necessary or you can get for less somewhere else?! But I guess, like I said, it comes down to experiences. If you're exposed to only buying expensive branded things, then that's what you'll buy. For me, I was never brought up or had things to influence me to buy expensive things... but to save and budget and only buy what I can afford. Call me stingy or a cheapskate or not living life to the fullest... but at least I know I will always have money and wont be one of those people who are constantly paying things with credit cards and having endless amounts of debt.

So anyways, I found out tonight that not buying these brands makes me feel like an outsider. They were talking about brands and I felt like I just couldn't contribute to the conversation. I have heard of different brands... but I don't know anything about them. Quality, style, costs... not a clue. These girls were talking about $200 pairs of jeans and $500 wallets and never mentioned anything less than $80. I didn't want to jump in and say how I like the clothes that Target and Just Jeans have... or how I try not to pay more than $30 on things when i go shopping. I felt... so... different from them. Like I wasn't good enough to hang out with them because I lacked knowledge in this area.

So we eventually got onto another topic. Work. Most of my friends have office jobs... in areas such as accounting, marketing, IT etc. My job is a totally different experience from them. Teaching is nothing like what they go through. But it doesn't mean that its not a 'real' job. In fact, teaching probably is more of a responsibility than an office job. We have 28+ 'clients' to take care of... to educate... to encourage... to keep in line... to communicate with... and that's not even including the client's family. Teaching is just as important as being a doctor. We have lives that are our responsiblity 5 days a week (sometimes 7), 24/7. Yes... I can tell you that there is not a moment when you aren't thinking about your students or their families. Whether it'd be planning for lessons, finding learning aids, thinking of solutions to issues arising with families, buying stationery for the classroom, going to PD seminars, talking about your day at home or even meeting students and families at the local shops. Your students are your life. As much as you want to keep professional and personal matters seperate, you're bound to find a link somewhere. Even now, not having a class of my own, I always think about the children I've taught during my teaching placements at uni. I wonder how they're doing, what highschool they're at, if they're still labelled 'trouble makers', or if that child got the learning aid she needed. Teaching is so rewarding... and when I listened to the conversations we have about our jobs, I can proudly say that I am definitely one of the lucky ones. I get to do a job that I love. A job that I will look foward to everyday. I know I will have my bad days... but even still, I know it will definitely be outweighed by the good.

It's annoying how it friends still talk about teaching as if its not as good as a 'real' job. And its even more annoying to know I still get affected by what they say or how they talk about it. They talked about Performance Reviews... asking each other when they have it... or whether its fair... and how they're graded... they asked each other... but never once included me in the conversation. Because of course... teaching isn't a real job so we don't get performace reviews. Well, if only you had asked me, i would have told you that we DO get performance reviews otherwise how would they know if students are learning or being taken care of properly? How would they know if we're actually planning lessons that are meaningful for the children and not just getting them to do rote learning worksheets all day? How would they know if we are learning new teaching methods to improve our practice and keep up to date with modern teaching approaches? It really really frustrates me that they think teaching is so different from any other job. *sigh...

Ok, I could go on about this forever... but I won't. Kinda went off track. Didn't mean to start raving on about teaching. But I'm tired and its time for bed.

my thoughts @ 2:07 AM

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