The new semester begins

The new semester has started for me, which means my easygoing summer is over and it's back to the grind. Tutoring's already begun, but classes start tomorrow.

I am reasonably prepared, I think. My lessons are ready to go. I'm feeling very confident about my two composition classes, but a little more nervous about my Business Writing workshop. I need to spend the first class (which is four hours long due to the compressed format) giving the students a grounding in writing in general before we dive into the specifics of the form. Teaching four-hour classes is challenging enough, but figuring out not only what is needed for this type of writing which is pretty different than typical academic writing makes it tougher. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, so I may be worrying over nothing, but I hope I do okay.

My schedule is a good one for me. Basically my work week is I have three days on of teaching and two days off for prep and grading. I mean, realistically weekends are going to end up being for prep and grading too, but perhaps I can use the time in a focused enough manner to make that unnecessary. And they are spaced out such that I have at least one solid day to prepare for each teaching day. That consolidation means a lot less driving, which makes thing infinitely better for me, as I'll have good solid chunks in a comfortable environment to get work done. I'm hoping this will make having an extra class this semester go a little easier, especially when we get into rehearsals for this Arisia's Mrs. Hawking plays.

I have all my stuff ready for tomorrow. I packed up my big purse with my syllabi and handouts. I have lunch ready to take with me so I won't have to come home in the middle of the day. And I picked a work dress that will complement my hair. Yes, I have decided to keep my pink hair. There's no rule against it at Lesley, and my superiors have seen it and had no adverse reaction, so I'm going for it. I touched it up tonight, so that it looks good for my first impression. Can't hurt to make a good showing the first time people meet you. I'm still a little concerned it may make me look like a kid in front of my students and possibly diminish my authority in their eyes, but I'll just have to make sure I assert myself. My pink hair was the change I was craving for a while, and I'm not ready to get rid of it yet.