First Post! Bio and awesome mugshot

Hi! This is Julia M's blog. I am an aspiring k-12 Physical Educationand Health teacher over at Willamette's School of Education. I am passionate about fitness and health and hope to teach children how to maintain a physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy lifestyle.

I love working with middle school students especially as they tend to be "difficult" and often sarcastic at times. This is such a fun challenge!! I hope to get these students on the right track to decrease their likelihood of having type II diabetes and against childhood obesity. I also want to incorporate physical education with building self esteem. Too many children of this generation suffer from low levels of confidence, and many suffer from stress or anxiety disorders. Girls especially tend to focus solely on their physical appearance as they are heavily influenced with the media. It is my dream to create an environment within my own physical education classes which help kids feel healthy in a physical, emotional and mental way!

I just finished my first marathon (the picture with Mr. Bolt and Mr. Stevens was taken the day before my race) and hope to begin training for my next in Eugene around early May. I am from Tucson, AZ and absolutely love Oregon! Mr. Stevens is my boyfriend and is originally from England! I met him in New Zealand and decided to take him back with me to America. He is a runner and is currently studying at the University of Minnesota. In this photo he's wearing a sling because he broke his arm in a crazy and dangerous bike ride (not really). He likes soccer and can probably demolish David Beckham in a 1 on 1 game if he felt like it.

I enjoy running and weight lifting in my free time. I play the viola have and practiced for about for 13 years. I even used to play at the Willamette University's Chamber Orchestra in addition to the Waller and "Dynamique" Quartet! I also have an electric viola somewhere hiding in my home back in Arizona! I also enjoy computer programming in my free time, and if you promise not to tell anyone- I used to be a big "gamer."

I also enjoy calling my parents on a daily basis (I'm an only child). Both of my parents used to be (music) teachers and eventually both become librarians. Now my mother works at Santa Rosa Public Library. She works with of children from low socio economic status and continues to teach me about working with children. My father, an avid fitness buff, is retired. Due to various medical complications since 1992 my father struggles through many things we often take for granted. He has taught me the importance of being healthy, both mentally and physically. More importantly, he has taught me that many in our society do not take advantage of their healthy and functioning bodies. My father is my hero as he works out daily and continues to run/walk his way to a possible half marathon in May. My dad will always be a "Superman" in my eyes!

This blog is specifically for my Educational Technology course and will continue to have posts related to the assignments on www.willamettemat.com

Keep an eye on this blog for some cool ways of incorporating technology with physical education!