Melissa Wantz: Notes from West Egg

I find the transition to summer vacation to be a perilous time. My mood swings from elation at the idea of all these days off, followed by reflective regret over what I should have done better during the past ten months. I am exhausted, cranky and sort of lost as the pressure of a bell schedule and managing 180 students abruptly stops, and the routines of summer have yet to settle.

Even my dreams are troubled. Last night I dreamed of two of my best sophomores, both of whom are making the jump from college prep English into AP English next year. They will do fine because they are very bright and diligent students, but apparently my subconscious “believes” I’ve let them down. In my dream, both boys were critical of my teaching, and I ended up yelling at one when he stated flat out that he saw no purpose for reading in his life and that no matter what I had done this year, reading would never be important to him.

Oh well, the night before, I dreamed that I was in the passenger side of a car that was suddenly driven off a cliff, aka “Thelma and Louise.”

I need to chill out.

(Photo Credit: “Dreaming” by h.koppdelaney )