All About Me!

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Hello everybody! My name is Emily Bridges, Emily, Em, E, whatever works for you! I am a junior here at Upstate and I will be graduating as a Middle Level Education teacher (someday) and will hopefully be teaching English or History. 

My passion of course is the career I have chosen to pursue. Becoming a teacher is a lifelong goal of mine and is the only thing I can imagine myself doing for the rest of my life. Working with students and other teachers is one of my favorite things to do and I cannot wait to get to know all of you. Other elements that make up my passions are reading of course. Reading has been an element of my life for as long as I can remember. My first favorite book was my mother's college anatomy and physiology textbook, if you can believe it. I'm not so much of a sports person, although I wish I was. I ran track and field throughout high school and I look back on it fondly, as it was something out of my comfort zone and an activity that I had to actively push myself to participate in. I am not the most graceful of sorts, so sports were never in the cards for me, however I am always looking for a new running buddy! One fun thing I challenged myself to do during the Coronavirus-induced quarantine was learn the piano. It's become such a soothing form of entertainment, however noisy it may be at times. Otherwise you can find me soaking up relaxation time anywhere I can find it. As much reading as I do, I love to obsess over television shows for weeks at a time and always take recommendations!

I do have a full time job outside of college, I work at a tex-mex restaurant in Greenville called On the Border, so if I'm not in class you can probably find me there! Being a full time student and a full time employee is challenging at times but it has taught me valuable time management skills and I am grateful for the income. My degree is the best investment I feel I have made, but being a student is definitely not a cheap gig.

As a learner, I am navigating the online platform as best I can, as I feel we all are. I am incredibly dedicated to my school work and try to work to the best of my ability given the circumstances. I love connecting with others and feel that I do my best work when I am working with my peers, so I will never shy away from group work. I thrive on communication, so keeping an open line and explaining clearly the expectations will help me succeed.

As an adolescent and as a child, many books have changed my life and changed my thinking. When I think of books, the first book I remember finishing and impacting me was Diary of Anne Frank. We had to read it in school and her story impacted me greatly. We were around the same age and I thought she was such an outstanding young woman. I still do think that. Other books were the dystopian novels like Hunger Games and Divergent. The female main characters that displayed bravery and courage and triumphed great odds were so inspiring to me as a young girl. Characters like those contributed to the headstrong and determined person I consider myself today. 

Overall, thank you so much for taking the time to read about me and I cannot wait to work with all of you!

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