What happens in Texas stays in Texas... right?

It's definitely been longer than I hoped since my last post. I do apologize for the delay, school work and SCEC/CEC research/convention has consumed my life.

I'm currently in my lovely hotel room (seriously, it's an awesome hotel room), having been up all night attempting to work on a few papers, lesson plans, behavior plans, crisis action plans, etc. I suppose this is a taste of what my reality will be like shortly. In the words of a professor from Vanderbilt, "it's too late to turn back, the Kool-aide has been consumed." Not that I would retreat from special education, but an international convention can be intimidating.

The international CEC convention of 2013 is being hosted in San Antonio, Texas. I've never been to Texas before, and quite frankly, had it not been for CEC, I probably would have avoided it for as long as possible. Texas and I are polar opposites, in far too many ways. I won't even attempt to explain the numerous reasons here, it's rather daunting.

Thankfully I am not alone in my CEC '13 adventures, and have my lovely friend Emily here with me. We're both presenting research (well, poster presentations), and have been lucky enough to lean on each other for support.  I'm quite sure I would have been far grumpier or closer to a mental breakdown if she wasn't here. Don't get me wrong, I can handle stress, but the pressure to not only bring your A game, but impress potential grad schools/professors, mentors, peers, etc, gets overwhelming quickly. Especially since we're both so close to graduating and moving on in our fields.

I'd absolutely be lying if I said that talking to professors from Michigan State, Vanderbilt, and Columbia University was a walk in the park (Yes, these are the top schools I'm looking at for my masters/PhD/JD) 

I'm slightly infatuated with MSU... Go Green!

Emily presenting on Thursday; Printed proof from CEC!

Emily presented UNC's parent respite research on Thursday afternoon, and did an amazing job! I presented UNC's art gallery walk yesterday (Friday) morning. So glad we could depend on each other during our presentations!

CEC '13; Me ready to present; Look Ma, I'm "professional"!

  Emily was beyond prepared for this whole convention. It was her first time attending a CEC convention, and the girl was disgustingly coordinated! Yes, I am jealous of her ability and talent, as I threw random pieces of clothing and accessories into my suitcase the night before we left for San Antonio.








We have an amazing mentor/faculty advisor who helped guide us during the whole process of proposing, researching, writing, editing, etc. I'm pretty sure we would have had numerous and frequent breakdowns if she wasn't there to support us. Thank goodness for Francie Murry!



Today (Saturday) is the last day of the convention, and we're ready to soak it all in! And now that CEC is almost over, there has been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully I can finish the remaining 4 weeks of the semester relatively sane (fingers crossed!)

More pictures, stories, anecdotes, lessons/realizations, and postings coming soon!!