On a New Life and Impending Adulthood

The time has finally come. My trip is at an end. I am in Houston.

I got in yesterday, driving into downtown Houston right smack in the middle of rush hour (6:00 to 6:30 pm central time). The traffic was so bad that it made me never want to drive in Houston again. "Too bad!" said Houston, "there's basically no public transportation. You gots to drive!" Then I was all like "Damn, Houston, that's cold. I thought we were friends." And Houston was all like "Whatever, man. I don't even know you." I tried to reason with Houston, but by this point he was completely ignoring me.

But that was not my worst or last encounter with driving in Houston. I went to a job interview today in a suburb northwest of the city, to teach private lessons in trombone and euphonium at a high school. The drive there took me on about five different highways which wind and intersect in and around the city. Traffic was terrible, even at 2 in the afternoon, and the fact that I had only a small idea of where I was going made it that much worse. It was worth it in the end, because I got the job, but now I'm trying to cope with the fact that I have to repeat that hellish drive on a weekly basis all year long.

Today was my first day of graduate school, and it was a long and busy day. So far it is very strange to be a graduate student in a completely new place. It's very weird somehow to be on a campus that is my campus but isn't Oberlin. I won't list all the things that I did today, but there have been a few things that have really made my situation hit home. I think I will share those with you.

-My new Rice ID says "Graduate Student" right there under my name. It's not quite like having letters after your name, but it does make you feel accomplished.
-When I was talking to the band director at the high school, who also went to Rice for trumpet, he never really asked for any credentials, though I did give him a resume. At one point he said "I know that since you go to Rice you must be good and you must know what you are doing," and that was enough for him to hire me. I didn't realize that the simple fact of what school you go to could hold such sway.
-Entering the high school where I will teach was the first time I had been in a high school since I had recently been a student myself. I at first wondered if people would think I was a student, but then when I saw the students I realized how preposterous that was. I looked much more like a teacher than a student. Walking into a high school as a teacher for the first time somehow seemed like a crash course in becoming an adult. I'm not sure if I'm ready, but I'd better get ready fast.

Now I'm tired, but I have the whole weekend to get some rest before classes start on Monday. For this I am extremely thankful.