Category: Year in Review

~2020 Year in Review~

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My beloved friends, family, and community,

What a full year it has been! Like most of you, I have experienced highs and lows like no other in my own life as well as collectively in this unprecedented year. From continued Black Lives Matter movements, political animosity in an election year, and navigating loss and transition in a global pandemic, I am sending you all big hugs. I see you.

WINTER: I started 2020 as an AVID tutor at the middle and high school, nannying my neighbors (still the best 2 and 6 year olds on the block!!), and substitute teaching different grades and subject areas. I got to say, I had some funny moments with students and staff alike assuming I was a middle or high school student and not the teacher! My chubby cheeks are getting me places!

SPRING: In March, the stay home orders came into effect and all 3 of my jobs ended abruptly. Then, I started my Master’s in Teaching program in Secondary Social Studies through the University of Washington in Seattle. The program switched to being online so I stayed in Bremerton. I thought I was doing great with all of the unexpected transitions, but in my first week of school, I found out I developed shingles (a super painful viral infection that attacks a nerve cord). Which is usually caused by stress, yikes!

SUMMER: I treasured and relished in moments of delight that were big and small. I had a pretty good gig doing my school outside which was lovely. Other magic moments from the summer include getting visited by a rooster friend, going on camping trips, hikes, biking, gardening, eating wild berries, getting to swim in the Salish Sea and various lakes, and cherishing walks with friends (both in person and on the phone).

FALL: At the beginning of the school year, I was scheduled to start my student teaching placement. Because of complications with teachers and school districts being under a lot of stress, the process took a long time! In October, I had graduate school classes but still did not have a teaching placement so… I got a job at UPS and worked there until the beginning of January. It was so GREAT! There were many jobs that I found myself doing but mostly I was in a semi truck trailer making walls with an endless sea of boxes, bags that weighed as much as I do full of small packages, and other packages (like a tuba, lots of car parts, truck tires, and the like). It was a super workout! And a great opportunity to socialize with people (not square icons on Zoom) while being masked up and socially distanced in our warehouse.

WINTER: December was a busy month as I finished up fall quarter assignments, got to be a substitute teacher for an awesome group of fourth graders online (I had SO MUCH FUN with this opportunity!), working in the evenings, and finally getting a placement for student teaching! I am student teaching in an 8th grade U.S. History classroom online with the middle school I worked at last year and have a very supportive mentor teacher, woohoo! I am so grateful.

There were some major family medical situations (that are still unfolding). My step dad went through chemo & radiation, surgery to remove a cancerous mass, and is currently going through the second round of chemotherapy. I am so thankful that even with all of the health trials, he has had a super positive attitude, is still his silly self, and has found a new hobby of creating lego stop motion videos. My Lolo (grandpa) who I live with has had Dementia for the past 8 years and in the past 2 months has gone through a huge shift, which has increased his care needs. I am so grateful for my family and the ways that we can come together to support my Lola (grandma) who is the full time caregiver and Lolo in this transition.

Within this year full of rawness and the need to be flexible, there is also an awareness of the sensitivity and emotional needs that we have. I am going to counseling again and am recognizing and being gentle with myself as I go through transitions and process life. I hope you are too. And a huge thank you for all of your support and prayers.

Going into 2021, my word for the year is ~embrace~ I am taking stock of the values I have, what I know about myself, areas I am working to grow in and embracing them more fully, digging deeper into the work that I am doing. This includes the relationships I have, committing to pushing myself in my teaching practice, continuing exercise, and engaging in action for racial and social justice. It is also a reminder to embrace the transitions that seem to be never ending, especially as I prepare to graduate with my Master’s in Secondary (6-12th grade) History and English Language Learner Education this June and plan to start teaching this Fall!

I hope you enjoy these bunny & salal plant stickers I created as a reminder to be soft and nurture yourself in the abundance that we share. I am sending you SO MUCH LOVE!

Living and Thriving on Suquamish, S’Klallam, and Duwamish land

With love,

Breanne

*~2019 Recap~*

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2019 has zipped by and has been full of joy! Being in my young adult years, there are many transitions and looming life decisions that can cause uneasiness but luckily, I have been feeling more able to trust in the process of life and have peace, knowing that everything will work out in God’s timing and provision.

In my last year at the Evergreen State College, I had fun working as Speedy the Geoduck (our mascot). A highlight was getting to unicycle while in my costume at a basketball game! I was in a program titled “The Spanish-Speaking World” where we studied the history of Central and Latin America as well as learned Spanish and ethnography. In April, I got to study abroad with half my class in Mérida, México. I lived with the most sweet and energetic host family and got to room with one of my classmates! 

Living in Mérida was amazing. There is an endless amount of things that I could say but I will mention a few. First, we were there from April to June, which is the hot season, so it was almost 100 degrees everyday. One day, I had to rush to get to my volunteer internship at Edúcate (an academic support program for low-income youth) so I was jogging to the bus stop in 105 degree heat, wearing jeans! That was too hot!! My body did thrived with the daily detox from sweating out my toxins and all the vitamin D from the sun I was taking in. Plus, whenever I got too hot, I ate ice cream to cool down so I was living in luxury! Also, the few times it rained were glorious – I danced in the street and got splashed by cars going through ginormous puddles in the flooded roads. 

We went on three excursions to different areas of the Yucatán peninsula as a class. We visited organizations that work to empower Indigenous knowledge and voices, sustainability, environmental and economic justice, education, and community activism. In one field trip, we went on a tour of a local permaculture farm and right as we stepped out of the van we got to witness a mama cow giving birth! Then, we learned about the native melipona bees that produce honey rich with medicinal properties and don’t have stingers. These bees are vulnerable to the types of bees brought over when México was colonized, but a different native species of bees that also don’t have stingers, will fight the colonizer bees on behalf of the melipona bees. Within the community organizations we saw, there was the same type of interconnectedness and joining together to support indigenous voices, ways of life, and revitalization of culture.

When I got back to the states in June, I graduated from Evergreen State College with a Bachelor’s in Arts focused in Ethnic Studies and Education. I am so grateful for my time at Evergreen! I moved back to my hometown of Bremerton, WA, which is located on the ancestral and current lands of the Suquamish, Duwamish, Kalallam, and Twana/Skokomish peoples, into my Lola and Lolo’s (grandparents) house and started an amazing summer job. I got to be a camp counselor for an outdoor education camp, put on by the Great Peninsula Conservancy, for middle schoolers coming from marginalized backgrounds. Every Tuesday and Thursday I would pick the students up in a Kitsap Transit van and we would go to a location in Kitsap county to explore and learn about our community, history, and ecology. My most special day was on the lowest tide of the year, we went down and explored the beach. All across the shore, the students squealed with delight and shouted for me to come see what they had found! It was so fun to see their tough exteriors fall away and their childlike wonder come out. My students were such a blessing!

Currently, I am a nanny to the best 5 and 2 year old on my block. We enjoy going to the park, doing crafts, pretending we are monsters, and reading books. It is so fun to watch them grow and experience the wonders of the world. Just last week, we got soaked from head to toe splashing in the rain puddles, something I would not decide to do on my own, but laughed a lot in the freedom of being in the moment. I am also an AVID tutor in the high school and middle school. I work with small groups of students to build college and career ready skills like collaboration, organization, and practice working through challenges in their content material.

I was accepted to the Secondary Master’s in Teaching program at the University of Washington! I now have to decide between that program (which starts in April) and a graduate program in outdoor education at IslandWood in Bainbridge Island, WA (which starts in August). Please pray for wisdom in choosing the right next step!

One awesome thing this year has been receiving flight benefits from my Uncle David who is a flight attendant. This means I can fly super cheap on standby. I have gotten to connect with my Great Aunt Bette in Florida, visit friends in Chicago, Colorado, and different parts of California. I have also been having fun making silly magnets out of clay. They are being sold in my local co-op, which I love! I enjoy getting to walk around and ride my unicycle everywhere, going to workout classes at the YMCA, and all the yummy food places in Bremerton. I am soaking up the solace of this in between school time in my life.

I hope to start the tradition of writing a recap every year and then, when I am an old-timer, I can look back over the years as a way to record the history of my life and share those stories with others. I am so thankful for the support and love I have from my family, friends, and community. Thank you all for the love, laughs, and time spent together this past year! I am excited to journey together this next year. Happy 2020!

 

Peace and Joy,

Breanne ☺

 

P.S. The photo of me was taken by my friend Rebekah on the day of my graduation party!