a thought on teaching

for the past few semesters, i've tried to convey the expectation to my students that getting an A means more than just meeting the minimum requirements of the course or even of the A itself. i want my students to actually earn their As, which means meeting with me beyond a single conference or going to the writing center or having multiple peers review their papers.

this semester, more than others, i have students who are concerned about earning that A. last night i met with three students after 6pm because that was when i could meet. they wanted my feedback so they could turn in A-quality work, and they were willing to sacrifice some of their tuesday evening to do so. i grumble about having to traipse up to campus after a long day at work when i don't technically "have" to be up there, but really i'm glad to help my students achieve their goals.

have i said that i love teaching?

high heels and headbands

one thing that held me back from getting a blog for awhile was the burdensome task of choosing a URL.

{insert quintessential courtney phrase here.blogspot.com}

there's a lot of pressure in that! once you've got a URL, you can't really change it. you're stuck with your decision. 

"sophisticated simplicity" i came up with pretty fast. i love that da vinci quote, and i love the talk from president uchtdorf that quotes the quote. i still love the concept, and hopefully it applies, in a least a small degree, to what i try to do here. 

eventually, i bit the bullet: highheelsandheadbands. i mean, i love high heels--anyone who knows me will tell you that one of my favorite things to do is put on a new pair of heels as soon as i get them home. i love headbands, as many witnesses can attest. on two separate occasions, years apart, i have won awards for having versatile and attractive hair accessories (which has also made me think that i need to be better about letting people get to know me so they can find something to look at beyond my headwear). i figured these two things would be timeless, would always describe me. 

not so. i still like those things in theory--not so much in practice. 

i guess this is less a commentary on my failure to choose a URL that i would like two years later than one on how much my style and, in some ways, my personality, has changed in the past couple years. i was just thinking today, i'm glad i've kind of figured out my style. but then i thought, who knows how long this will last, though?

so i think i'll stick with highheelsandheadbands. it's alliterative, which is always a plus. and maybe there is still something in those two things that is quintessentially me.

sunday drive

yesterday, emily, tess, meredith and i decided to drive the alpine loop, since we hadn't really done it before and it seemed like the colors would be perfect. although the trip ended up being a little longer than we expected and we were all ready to get out of the car after about two and a half hours, the drive was beautiful, and i for one was still in awe by the end.

my camera isn't super high quality, which means my pictures aren't either, but here is some photographic evidence that we went on this lovely excursion.

why i like fall: reason #27

new episodes of my favorite shows.

i'm pretty sure i've addressed this in a past post, but, watching the new episodes of the office and parks and rec today reminded me again just how great this time of year is.

gotta love fall.

thoughts on wednesday

i was going to call this "hump day thoughts" but then decided not to and then decided to just share my thought process anyway.

yesterday i had sixteen conferences with students. one way i know the semester is officially underway=conferences. then once those start, it feels like they never stop. but, miracle of miracles, all of my students yesterday showed up, for the most part on time, and they all had drafts. that almost never happens. and most of the drafts were pretty darn good. have i said that i love teaching?

i read this article on the @ symbol yesterday. it was awesome.

my brother posted this video on my wall last night and then promptly sent me a text that said "check out the vid i put on your wall." i did, and within the first 30 seconds of viewing i was clapping my hands in delight. taylor swift + hanson=all of my wildest dreams coming true.

i am so glad i'm getting paid on friday.

if anyone knows of a house south of campus that will have four spots for girls come winter, let me know. it is becoming more and more apparent that the four of us need to move in together asap.

and, last thought, thought that's always in the forefront of my mind, why is dating so dumb?

happy wednesday!

it's things like this that make me want a husband and baby so bad...

this song...it's been on my mind since i first heard the album, and it is so beautiful. "a father's first spring"--scott avett's thoughts on being a new father and how he felt about his new daughter. i especially love the line "i was a child before the day that i met eleanor."

on embracing your weirdness

i've had several conversations with people about this lately, and i feel like i can finally contribute something to my blog.

i always thought that, if i wasn't successful in dating, which i have to admit has been the case for basically all of my adult life, that meant there was something wrong with me, something that i needed to change about myself. when i say change here, i mean change some of my personality traits, like i thought maybe i needed to be different, be more flirty or laugh less loudly or like different things. i believed that there must be something about me that was holding me back.

as i've gotten older, i've gotten away from that, at least when i think about myself and dating. i've come to believe that it is more a matter of timing than of having to change yourself in order to be more "dateable." i realized that i don't need to try to be anyone else when i'm actually pretty awesome in my own right. now i just need to find the guy who also thinks that.

but it recently came to my attention that i still apply my former flawed logic, that not dating means you need to change something about your personality, to other people. i know a couple people who are very awkward, to the point that it is sometimes hard to be around them. and all this time i've been thinking that, if only they could get over that and be different, change something that is such an inherent part of them, they'd be so great and people would for sure want to date them. and how lame is that of me? i remembered, again, that it's all about timing, finding the right person at the right time. so, that guy who bugs me--i need to remember that he's not for me, and that's okay, but there is someone out there who will love all of him and embrace all of that stuff that drives me crazy.

my comrades (the people i talked to about this issue) and i did decide, though, that there is something to be said for bettering yourself. we hear about aligning our lives with that of the Savior, and that is where self-improvement takes place. there might not be one ideal personality, but there is one true way to live your life. we can always be working to develop the attributes that are embodied in Jesus Christ. as one of my friends put it, the change is principle-based rather than trait-based. i know one person who had a reputation for being kind of mean and cold, and i think this person realized that was holding him or her back from being really happy. so, this person consciously worked to become more positive and friendly. and the change was amazing. i don't know for sure, but i think this person really did get happier and, to a degree, more successful in dating, or at least more confident that everything works out eventually.

to sum up: i'm not going to expect people to change their personalities anymore, and i'm going to keep reminding myself that there will be someone someday who is willing to accept all my weird things. that's one of my worries, too, that guys will think my weird things are too weird and won't be able to get over that i don't drink juice or that i can't even look at snakes. but that's dumb, because there is someone for everyone, no matter how trite that sounds. and, i'm going to keep doing the things i can to become more like Christ--the only way to be truly happy, with or without a man.

i'll end this with one of my favorite quotes. i can't remember if i've posted it before or not, but it's too perfect for this subject to not share again.

that dr. seuss, he really knew what he was talking about.