On my way to Induction/Institute/Orientation, I visited family in MI and TN and met up with a bunch of Delta TFA Corps Members in Memphis. We had a couple nights in the city and enjoyed ourselves before, what will be, 5 weeks of intensity.
Now that I am in the Delta, I'm realizing that my life will be drastically different than what I have known. Although I will be teaching in Jackson Public Schools, a Southern city is nothing like a New England city. There is a lot of land and fewer people. There are no skyscrapers but there are a lot of cotton fields. I'm feeling the magic of the south but it is tiresome to take in so much.
As one of the first to arrive at Delta State at 10am, I have already met dozens of people and have needed two naps. Our dorm rooms have been filled with carloads of stuff that we all assumed we would need. Toothbrushes, shorts, laptops and surely our pre-institute homework.
In one hour our Induction will begin with a Welcome Ceremony and then dinner in the quadrangle of DSU. There's a lot of buzz around the dorms with people getting to know each other and trying to make new friends. Ultimately it's Freshmen year of college all over again, except we're all motivated to make change in our small world. Together, starting tonight we will start to share our stories as to why we want to make change, why we chose to be a part of the TFA movement, and how we see ourselves reaching the kids that we are about to teach.
This summer will be hard, but I'm sure it will be rewarding. All of us will feed off of the energy of others while we struggle to make sense of everything that we will be learning.
I'll try to keep everyone updated over the next few weeks but you'll probably read a lot of babbling from late-night banter.
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