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White. Female.

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Allison. Named by mother.  She was torn between Allison and Sara.  Ultimately she picked Allison, but as a child I always wished she had named me Sara instead.  My Grandfather would often joke and call me Alice – which I did not like.  Other nicknames I had as a child were Ally, AllyGator, and Big Al.  For some reason we always spelled Ally with a y even though Allison was with an i.
Clack. For 32 years my name was Allison Marie Clack.  Clack, the last name of a father who was almost completely absent my entire childhood.  A family last name, I knew hardly anything of.  Often misspelled or mispronounced as Clark or Clock.  On the rare occasion if someone recognized the name they would ask if I was related to someone they knew with the same last name and say that’s not a common name, you have got to be related, but I would just shrug and say I’m not sure.  The only nickname I ever got out of my last name was Click Clack.  A name I never felt like I could relate too and was never eagerly proud of did become a part of me and my identity. When I got married last year, I had mixed feelings about dropping it to take on my husband’s last name (mostly due to the fact that Clack is at the beginning of the alphabet and with the new last name I would be at the end of the alphabet, along with a few other reasons).

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Adaptable.  I come from a very large family.  As a child, I grew up in a very unconventional household.  During my elementary school years,  me, my brother, and my mother lived in a 3 bedroom house with my  grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, and two cousins.  During high school, me, my brother, and my mom moved into the basement of a different aunt and uncle's house.   In that house, it was me, my brother, my mom, my aunt, my uncle, and two cousins.  Around this time, a completely different uncle purchased a second home on Lake Lanier.  This was more of a summer house for the entire family to enjoy.  At any given time there would be 4-8 of my aunts, 3-5 uncles, and about 15 of my first cousins spending the entire summer break in that house.  From living with so many people throughout my life, I have learned to get along with almost anyone.   I think one of my most valuable characteristics is my adaptability.  To adapt you must be open-minded.  I am always willing to listen to other people's points of views, even if they differ from mine.  To adapt is to change. You must have the will, the emotional tolerance, the mental fortitude, and the spiritual guidance to face uncertainty.  I am always up for an adventure.

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Initially, my fiancé and I had hopes of enjoying our engagement for a few years before planning a wedding.  I was just starting back to college (after a ten year hiatus) and we both agreed we wanted to wait until I was graduated and comfortable in my career.  Well, in July of 2018, our plans changed.  My future mother-in-law, who had been battling Pancreatic cancer for 3 years, was placed on in-home hospice care.  As we saw her health quickly terminating, my fiancé and I decided how important it was to have her be a part of our wedding.  So, we planned our entire wedding within 1 month.  People thought we were crazy.  The day before our wedding, on the way to our rehearsal, my mother-in-law fell and broke her hip.  Due to her frail figure and poor health, the hospital was unable to repair her hip. While she was unable to leave the hospital to attend our wedding, my husband and I went to see her following our reception.  All 11 of my bridesmaids let me take their bouquets to the hospital to give to her.  With my bouquet included, that was 12 beautiful bouquets of roses, eucalyptus, baby’s breath, and lamb’s ear added to her room.  These flowers represent the empathy and compassion of my closest friends.

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Honesty. My momma always taught us to do the right thing. She believed in KARMA and the Golden Rule. One time we found $100 in a department store and she made me turn it in to the cashier.

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One of my biggest cultural bias is my feelings towards men.  I wouldn’t say that I stereotype them or treat them any different … But… 99% of the time, I find myself doubting anything a man says.  I know that my distrust stems from growing up with an estranged father and a handful of failed relationships.  I chose this bias, because I am the most aware of it.  I often question myself for automatically assuming whatever he said was a lie.  He can be anyone.  For example, a man at the grocery store buying flowers told me the flowers were for his mother.  I immediately thought bullshit.  A principal told me he had a middle school student guilty of murder at a previous school.  I thought whatever.  I don’t know why my natural instinct is to not believe anything a man says when I have no reason to doubt them.  I chose this photo of Wonder Woman with her Lasso of Truth to represent this bias.  The Lasso of Truth forces anyone it captures into telling the truth.  Not that I need it, but it would be nice to naturally just give a little more trust.

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Literacy practices I chose to engage in on my own time are mostly all done on my cell phone or laptop. Most often, I am text messaging and facebooking.  I like pinning inspirational quotes on Pinterest.  I also read emails, articles for school, and other course readings.

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My literacy practice that is a form of self-care is Pinterest.  I would say this the most relaxing.  I enjoying pinning inspirational quotes (see below) and bible verses.  I like visualizing new ways to decorate the house.  I find my next nail design and color on Pinterest.  I can save recipes I hope to try out.  I pin workout plans.

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The most emotional experience I have ever felt, when reading a book, was from Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  This is one of very few books that I have read as an adult.  It was a book that I could not put down, even with tears in my eyes.  I fell in love with the main character, Michael. He was a God-fearing man, who sought God’s heart in everything he did.  When God told Michael to marry a prostitute, Michael did.  He loved her in a way I have never felt love before.  It was beautiful.  His unwavering, unconditional love for his wife.  I could read this book over and over again.

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My strength on working with culturally diverse students is that I am excited and eager to teach in a culturally diverse environment.  I want all my students to feel welcome and valued in my classroom.  I chose this photo to represent the kind of teacher I do not want to be.  My MT asked me to prep materials for our kids to make Pilgrims.  They were going to write a story that began “If I were a Pilgrim, I would bring _______ on the Mayflower with me.” There stories were going to be attached to the Pilgrims they were to create. I selected several colors (white, beige, tan, brown, etc) to make Pilgrims from.  When my MT noticed me cutting the faces and body parts out of different colored paper, she exclaimed, “you only need to use the beige paper.  There were no black Pilgrims.”  This is not the classroom environment I want to create.  I want all my students to feel appreciated for who they are and valued for their unique differences.

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My biggest fear with regards to teaching culturally diverse students is language barriers.  I wish I were bilingual so that I could communicate with each and every one of my students effectively.  I am nervous that I am may not be able to communicate with parents on a regular basis due to not speaking the same language

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I am Allison. I am a wife. I am a mother. I am a friend. I am adaptable. I am compassionate. I am female. I am good. I am a truth-seeker. I am a God-follower. I am a wanna be gypsy-soul. I am a homebody. I am a coach, a mentor, a teacher. I am a helper. I am a receiver. I am grateful. I am the past, the present, and the future. I am all of this and so much more.