Beth becomes the student when her computer decides to die...

Hello,

So first of all I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post but I promise there is a good reason.  Well, not really a "good" reason but a reason non the less.  hmmm.... where to start?

How about this my computer decided that New Zealand would be a good place to call it's final resting place, well my hard drive to be exact.  Perhaps it had a bucket list with "visit New Zealand" as it's final goal that I didn't know about or perhaps it just fell so in love with the beauty of nature here that it decided to stay, or maybe it just wanted to see how stressed out it could make me.  Whatever the reason about 4 days ago the hard drive in my computer decided it had had enough and died on me.  Now to say that I was devastated, stressed, freaking out would all be good descriptions of my thoughts an actions for the past few days.  I know it seems over dramatic now but it felt as though a dear friend of mine had surprisingly died.  Okay maybe not that dramatic when you consider that my computer had all my pictures, music, lesson plans, programs, pretty much my entire last four years of life stored on it and in a blink of an eye it was suddenly gone.  So yes losing Nitro (or Mike) as I affectionally call my computer was like losing a friend.

I never appreciated how dependent I was on technology until it was suddenly taken from me.  My mind went into extreme overload as losing a computer is hard enough but to add on top of it that I am thousands of miles away from all my backups and installation disks.  So yes the good news is that I backed everything up before I left and I am hoping to be able to just pull it off once I get back home and put it on my new hard drive.  But the bad part is that I will not only not have access to any of my files but I am also now running pretty limited software as I cannot load iLife, Microsoft Office, or my Adobe programs without the disks that are safely sitting in my safe back at school.  However, every situation that presents itself also presents lessons to learn from it and this one is no other (although I think there most likely is another way to learn these lessons without the trauma of losing a hard drive.)  So in keeping with what I started last week with incorporating an education practice that I have picked up here in New Zealand this week was filled with WALTs (We Are Learning To...)

WALTs of the Week

(1) WALT cope with a stressful situation miles away from all you know while also continuing to teach.

My hard drive officially crashed on Thursday night so of course I had to go to school on Friday with the uncertainty that I may not have a computer while I was here.  Although I felt like crying and I initially didn't want to go to school and I just wanted to figure out my next step I knew that was not an option.  When I graduate St. Norbert and become a teacher with a class of my own there are bond to be days that something comes up, I'm stressed about something, or I actually do have a traumatic event happen yet as a professional I know that I cannot simply pack in everything and give up.  This experience has allowed me to practice the delicate balance of recognizing that I may not be 100% and things may be happening but also that I need to focus on what the task is at hand, fulfill my responsibilities, and not let my personal struggles affect how I am able to teach my students.


(2) WALT recognize and appreciate the great people that are around you.

All too often it is easy to take for granted those people who are in your lives who are truly amazing and it isn't until you need help and they step up above and beyond what you expect that you truly realize how lucky you are.  This experience has made me realize that with the number of people who have come to my aide that I am truly blessed.  My mom and dad were there willing to help when I called them at about  midnight or 1am there time when I realized what had happened.  Katie and Kristin my fellow new Kiwi's allowed me to borrow and use there computers and charge my iPod.  My host mom for allowing me to use her computer and drive me to pick up my newly fixed computer made the few days I was going through Mac withdrawal easier.  My fellow TA Ben Skifton was thankfully online at a ridiculous hour and provided a lot of technical support, computer advice, and general reassurance when I really needed it.  And of course as with everything technical that happens with the education department Krissy Lukens was the savior of the day with all her advice, running around helping me find Apple support, and words of encouragement. And finally my amazing boyfriend Brent, was not only there to listen to me vent and worry but also was always ready with wonderful words of encouragement and technical help to get me up and running again.  Wow that kind of sounded like a Oscars acceptance speech but I guess what I'm really trying to say is THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!! I am so truly blessed!!!

and finally....


(3) WALT find the good in the bad.
This whole thing has made me realize that not everything is going to turn out all happy and perfect.  Life presents challenges, some are big some a small, some seem big at the time but then turn our small later, or seem small at the time and turn out big but in general if you allow them any challenge can just make you a stronger person.  Looking back I have a feeling that this is going to be one of those challenges that at the time seems really big but as I get more removed from the situation it won't seem as bad.  However, I have already learned so much.  Like the fact that I was so devastated about  the loss of an object is not good.  Life isn't about stuff it's about the people around you, the moments you share, and the difference you can make in the lives of others.  There are so many people who have never even touched a computer much less have one of there own that they can bring with them.  I should be more mindful of what I do have and not get so caught up in the material possessions I may or may not have.  Additionally, in our rapid, fast paced, instant, on demand world, being forced to remove yourself form not constantly having what you need at your finger tips makes you really stop and consider what your priorities are.  I was forced to stop and really think... "okay do I really need to be on facebook that much?" "do I really need to do that on a computer or is there another maybe even better way of doing it?"  or "how do I best/most efficiently convey a message to someone when they are not a simple text, email, or call away?"  This experience has allowed me to see that faster isn't always better, more connected doesn't always improve relationships, and there are other things to do with your time then watching youtube videos (there's this thing called are you ready for this?.... a book!)


Don't get me wrong I LOVE technology, using it, teaching it, incorporating it into lessons, and I'm REALLY glad that I have a computer back but this experience has taught me so much more than just how to cope with being "offline."  It has opened my eyes to just how truly, in SO many ways, I am blessed beyond belief.  So yes I understand I am only able to say this now that I have my computer back but still, in the grand scheme of things this might just be one of those experiences that challenged me enough that I could learn a lot.

So yep... that's my LONG story and some of you are probably thinking "wow someone is a drama queen it's just a computer" but you know what... You are right.  I realize that now... it was just a computer but the lessons I learned from it were SO much more!