Trapped in a box

I think the theme of this semester should be "isolation." I am being prepared for life outside of college by being shut off from everything outside my little world of student teaching. Examples:

• Every weeknight roomates and well-wishers gather at exactly 11:35 PM to watch Conan. Since I am up at exactly 6am every weekday, I have no choice but to exclude myself from this activity which I once relished. Not only that, but often the exhuberance and joy from these gatherings spills in through my thin doors and walls, forcing me to listen to it while I try in vain to fall asleep.

• Weekends. Friday nights I'm too exhausted to be useful. Saturdays (if I'm not working) are spent catching up and cleaning up. Sundays are usually spent working and preparing for another week of teaching.

• The person who I desperately want to be with is 6 hours away and tied to a wonderful but demanding job. This limits us to monthly visits spanning a weekend-or-less's time. After willingly and happily enduring nearly 3 years of this, I am glad there is an end in sight (we're moving to Washington together this summer).

I could keep going, no doubt. Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying and relishing my student teaching experience, but I am finding that my professional side and my personal side are clashing more often than melding. I hope that as the weeks go by I find a way to blend these two elements together, instead of the water/oil mix I'm getting now.

Thank God Conan isn't on on Sunday nights. Perhaps I'll actually get some sleep...