What a May

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and over the past few weeks I have taken a break from Facebook. It has shown me that I have become reliant on it too much rather than let myself be creative, reflect, or just sit in silence with what's going on around me. It has become a negative space and offers nothing productive for me. Over the summer I am planning to take a break from other forms of social media in order to relax and find things that will bring a new sense of purpose, passion, and energy to me. 

Some thoughts on this month:

• This school year has been challenging as we wrapped up our year with testing, an international festival, 8th grade class day, and field day. My kids in my homeroom were ready for the year to be over but they still put effort and went above and beyond until the end. I'm hoping they find a lot of success wherever they go and continue to pursue what they are most passionate about.  It's not every year that some students can come back from being virtual and learn Algebra I in person.

• I started lifting at the beginning of April and in May I have become more consistent with it. I have been following a program and learning new techniques and exercises to incorporate into my routine. I can already tell that I have met one of my resolutions or goals for the year by lifting an additional 30 lbs over the year from where I started at the beginning of the year.
• I recently listened to a podcast about focusing and have started to multitask less when it comes to whatever it is I'm doing. I have also limited the speed I have when it comes to listening to podcast. I have found that it has help me be more attentive and allows me to catch little details that I sometimes miss when I'm in a rush or doing too much already.

• Reading and hearing about the possibility of abortion services being banned across the country bothers me. I have listened to many stories from women and have learned not to judge others for their decision because it's not mine to make. I trust people to make safe and health decisions with their body. I think access to those resources is incredibly helpful and prevents harm from unsafe abortions. I think birth control and sex education are also a part of this conversation.

• Lately I have been sadden by the recent shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo. People have there opinions about what should be done but nothing ever gets resolved. I find myself with the same thoughts and prayers I heard before in the last shooting. I think about the events that happened in El Paso a few years ago and it upsets me. I think we need to dig deeper and realize that the victims and survivors of those incidents should never have been in those situations to begin with and something needs to change.