Question 1- If you could be any age for the rest of your life, which would you choose? and why?

This was a hard question but, 26 is the perfect age. This was after I had completed college, and was finally making a decent wage. Around this age is when I did most of my traveling because it was before I had pets, a kid, and owned a house. So I could just go anywhere at the drop of a hat.

Question 2- If you weren’t teaching what would you do?

If I wasn’t teaching I would be running an animal rescue because the thing I love most are animals. I would also own an art gallery/maker space with Ms. Johnson where we would make art, sell art, and teach art classes to all ages. Being able to make art, and give back to the community by helping share my creativity and doing it with my best friend would make me very happy.

Question 3 – Which celebrity would you choose for your best friend? Why?

I can’t choose just one, so I am going to choose three since one isn’t even real. My first choice would be Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers she is my spirit animal, and I would enjoy hanging out with her and her dry humor. Secondly, Audrey Plaza, I feel like we would vibe well because we share the same bluntness when addressing people. Thirdly, I would choose Zooey Deschanel I love her quirkiness, and then we could share dresses too. A win-win.

Question 4 – What is your Greatest challenge in teaching?

My greatest challenge in teaching is the fact that I came from 10 years in industry as a graphic designer and know the Adobe programs that I teach so well I have a hard time breaking things down. I also do things out of habit without realizing and then don’t verbalize them to explain to the kids. I have been working on this by taking classes where they break down the programs into digestible chunks so that the kids get a better understanding, and are more well rounded in their application of each program. I really like when students are watching my demonstrations and say “Mrs. Melland what did you do there?” This way I realize that I just did something out of habit and I can explain how and why I did it.

Question 5 – How many dresses do you own?

Well, I haven’t worn the same dress twice yet this year. Which is kind of crazy, and I still have a half closet of dresses I haven’t worn yet this year. It probably doesn’t help that my husband signed me up for the Dress of the Month club for my birthday last year. After counting I have a total of 106 dresses. My students know I don’t just buy any dress, it has to have a unique or interesting pattern, for example measuring tapes, lemurs, a carousel, and the list goes on.

Question 6 – What do you think is the most useless invention of all time and why?

As a teacher, I feel like AirPods are the most useless invention of all time. They are a constant annoyance to me. Kids are either leaving their ear wax-encrusted earbuds in my room, which I don’t want to have to touch so that other kids don’t steal them. I am also sick of being responsible for their lost buds, or them complaining about how they washed one in their washing machine and now have to purchase new ones. It is also annoying that they leave them in and ignore instructions in class. Most of the time I can’t even tell that they have them in. I dream about the days before AirPods ruined listening skills and attention spans for everyone, as well as my sanity.