Summer is Over (For Teachers)

The first day of school is slowly dawning on a lot of teachers. For some, teaching has already begun. While two months have come and gone, I am somewhat enthusiastic about the new year teaching. I have decorated my classroom and prepped for the first few days. I feel confident that this year will be slightly different than the last. I certainly want my students to be more goal oriented when it comes to their work and I want them to reflect on their work throughout the year. It's not easy to see the progress being made if they never reflect on their own work.

As the first day  of school creeps on me, I am still recovering from Achilles Tendinitis. It has been over a month since I participated in running activities. It is driving me a bit crazy but it has allowed me to take a step back and reflect on how I have been doing throughout the year. Here are just a few of the things I have thought about: 

• Eating healthy is becoming more of a priority for me. When I decided to cut sugar from my diet, I wasn't sure if I could follow through on my goal. While I am not there quiet yet I feel like the Whole 30 diet provided a blueprint. I have cut out alcohol altogether and have been focused on looking at ingredients in some of the foods I eat. I may cut out sugar at some point and I think grains might also be on that list. Did I mention that I love avocado now!
• I missed my opportunity to go to New York.  I was so focused on buying a new car and now that I have I got caught up in traveling to places that people don't normally make their destination. I enjoyed my time back home in El Paso with family, too.
•  I love Rock N Roll! I wasn't expecting to see many of my favorite artist this year, so when a lot of them came through town I had to see them. 
• Creativity. When I went to a festival earlier this year I found out that my creative side is hungry.I want to work on that a little more. While I love to cook/bake, I feel that writing and drawing are things that brought me joy but have put them on the back burner. I am hoping to dig a little deeper throughout the next few months.
• It has been a while since I have done anything engineering related but I kind of want to tap into that a little more and connect it to creativity.
•  Dance lessons have been put on the back burner due to my tendinitis and running. Lately I have been doing a lot of stretching in hopes that my recovery goes faster. As I reflect on running though it is nice to take a much needed break from emotions I have been struggling with throughout this year.
• Dating in Jackson is hard. I am putting in the effort and that is all I can do. As I get older, I think about whether I will ever find someone who matches the same passions I have. Sometimes I feel like I am wasting time in Jackson but I know the work I do is making an impact on the kids I teach. 
• I love volunteering. I volunteered in Kansas City during my vacation. I love helping others around me and it is something I still want to continue to do in my community. This is why I love teaching because I want to continue to see students become leaders and change makers in their own way. 

Reflecting on this year it's easy to see how much has been done but there is so much I want to accomplish throughout the rest of the year. When it comes down to it, I want to continue to grow in areas where I am more healthy, honest, and supportive toward others.