I grew up in Ohio, but am nearly considering myself a Floridian at this point because I've been here for over FOUR WHOLE YEARS! (This is longer than most people I meet so I feel I've earned it.)
What brought me down? Well, my parents, in their irrational decision-making phase (likely due to the fact that their only daughter was away at college and they had nothing better to do than make silly decisions) they decided they were "sick of the snow" and moved to Florida. When I graduated three years later, I felt it wasn't fair for me to expect them to fend for themselves in sunny Florida, so I bit the bullet and joined them here. I suppose that's the beauty of becoming a teacher. Even children who play on sunny beaches in their spare time need to go to school.
I teach fourth grade at a private school here in Sarasota and I love my job. I've been busy since I moved down here earning my Masters' degree, recently publishing my third research article in an international education journal, and purchasing (and not burning down) my first home.
Now that I feel settled, I'm excited to meet more people in the area! (I'd also love to find someone who will kill those cockroach-looking Palmetto bugs. My screaming is waking up my neighbor's dog, and he already doesn't like me. (The dog, not my neighbor.)) Ok, the parenthesis inside the parenthesis just reminded me of my students' math homework, so I think that's my cue to stop here! :-P
