Getting into the grind of a physical, mental, and emotional routine doesn’t leave me much time for thinking. However, when I do get the chance to reflect upon conditions of the past and present I do see that my life is heading in the right direction.
PHYSICALLY, I’ve been going to the gym everyday. I went from a routine alternating between four different sets of exercises (3 sets of 10-12) (Shoulders, backs, and biceps; Chest & triceps; Leg Day; and Cardio) to a combination routine that does one set of each exercise every day (5-7 reps). I might go back to the first routine because I was able to feel the changes in my body more quickly. Who knows though? By the end of February I hope to intertwine my physical gym routine with my eating habits. Walking around in the classroom surprisingly burns quite a bit of calories. Starting next week I re-establish a new wake-up routine as I’ve accepted a very minimal part-time position at the Santiago library (only 3 hours a week). I’m also subbing at Fairmont for two days, so it’ll be pretty exciting to see some of those kids again (hopefully they remember me).
MENTALLY, I do quite a bit of thinking when I’m at Santiago. When I lesson plan I try to put myself in the mindset of a student to try to see what kind of things they would like to do in the classroom. As a result my lesson plans seem to deviate from the norm, incorporating memes, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and of course Snapchat. And though I do love lesson planning and putting my students first, for my own mental health I give myself plenty of breaks on the weekend to just relax. This is done through hangouts, “deep conversations”, Netflix splurging, and unwinding while reading a simple book.
And EMOTIONALLY, I’m not quite sure how to feel at times. Sometimes teaching make me feel wonderful, but at the same time there are rough days where I question why I put so much time and energy into something that doesn’t have an immediate reward. It’s hard to see how much impact you have on a student on a day-to-day basis, but it is a work in progress. I’m sure with plenty of practice I’ll get better though. After all, if Malcolm Gladwell is correct in his assertions that it takes 10,000 hours to master anything, it’s going to take me a couple of years in the classroom to truly become an effective educator and brighten the lives of my students. Intertwined with my emotions is of course my romantic pursuits, which as of late has been severely lacking. My push as of the moment is to get my credential, and find a job anywhere I can before I put any other set of priorities ahead of my own personal happiness.
I end with of course, an inspirational quote to not only inspire myself, but everybody around me.
