Strategy Saturday - {how to maintain your sanity.}

Photo Credit: Google Images 

The road to Thanksgiving break is a long stretch for teachers and students alike, and every year, I swear it gets longer and longer, and this year is not any different. 

While I love my teammates and my students, the year seems never ending around the end of October and beginning of November - the work is hard, the days long, and everyone's tired. 

Deadlines come faster than you can write them down in your expensive planner, and the turn around time for anything seems immediate. 
The million dollar question at this hour is - how do you maintain your sanity and work ethic when the hours and days get long? 

This year, I have found myself trying to balance work and life appropriately - I have two teammates, who are brand new teachers, and I don't want them to think the only way to be an effective teacher is to let it consume you, because it's not. 

I have joined the Y, and started going to work out classes. I have read 3 (almost 4) non school books in the recent weeks, and there are many nights of the week that school work stays in a bag by the door. 

If this, however, was the only way to keep your sanity, then every teacher would be a pro at it, but it's not. So, as the holiday season approaches, here are some simple things that you can do to improve your mental health and make the road to the holiday break even easier. 

1. Move. I am not talking about exercising every day for two hours, I am talking about a short walk around the block, yoga while watching TV, stretching while you're making dinner - some sort of physical activity to keep your body from growing cobwebs. 

2. Journal. This one is a little more personable, but keeping a journal doesn't have to be a Dear Diary sort of situation. You can keep a journal for personal, professional, or religious reasons. I journal for all three, and it's very therapeutic to write down thoughts, dreams, ideas, and situations that are clouding my head. I am a very emotional person and keeping things from bubbling in me makes me a better person, not just a better teacher. 

3. Enjoy a hobby. I realize that as this list progresses it becomes more and more clique; however, these are truly things that I do in real life, and I want other teachers and professionals to experience the same freeing feeling of separating life and work. I encourage you to find something you enjoy and keep doing it, despite your professional obligations. I like to sew, write, read, and play Sims, but you have to find what works best for you. I have a friend that takes herself on weekly dates that involve dinner and a movie. I have another friend that enjoys arts and crafts. Whatever you decide to do separate from your job, enjoy it. 

4. Take care of your body. This one is more than important, and not just for teachers. At this point, we are in our twenties, and we should start loving ourselves, which means watching what we eat, washing our faces, and getting at least seven hours of sleep. You can't run your body into the ground and expect that it will turn out excellence. We have to take care of ourselves. Ditch the fast food, grab an apple, and go to bed at 9 PM like a normal person. 

As the weekend disappears quickly, and the week peers from around the corner, remember that a break is almost here - we can see it! Remember, the work you are doing is noble and not for the faint heart. There's a reason you are in your classroom (or office.) 

Until next time loves, 
Lucy 

That time I was internet famous {ode to a season of who I was before.}

Today was such a good day for a handful of reasons. Let's recap as I wait for The Walking Dead to come back into my life. 

1. I meal prepped. I was doing so amazing at staying healthy and keeping my shape, and I feel off, so let me get back on. I meal prepped for two days, and on Tuesday, I'll meal prep for the rest of the week. 

2. I accomplished taking over the world by 11. I completed whole group plans, and just feel in a very good place for tomorrow. It might have something to do with the fact we are out on Tuesday, but either way, I feel ready for tomorrow and that never happens. 

3. My best friend surprised me with a visit. That's self explanatory. 


4. A TV show from my childhood had a marathon today. Growing up Gotti was literally my life a chunk of time in my early high school years, and it's been ten years, so A&E is rerunning it to prepare for a reunion. 

The marathon brings me to my topic of today - being internet famous and who I (we) were before our adult selves took over. 

So, here's the back story to my obsession with this obscure show. I was and still am in love with organized crime, a huge factor in loving this show so much (they are John Gotti's grandsons + daughter), and I found any guy who didn't look like the boys that went to my high school attractive. 

The show premiered and I was hooked. I couldn't get enough. I taped their pictures to my wall and notebooks, scribbled my name with Gotti added to it, but there was something missing. So, I did what any teenage fangirl would do - I Googled them and entered the world of forums and fellow fangirls. 

I quickly found myself submerged in forum and fan life - making posts and meeting other girls who loved the show and it's tanned, obnoxious boys as much as I did. Then, one faithful day, I stumbled upon the fan fiction section, and took a step into the light. 

A quick vocabulary lesson for those who might be struggling: fan fiction are stories that are created by people, but they use celebrities or already created literary characters. (Fun fact: 50 Shades of Grey was originally written as Twilight fan fiction.) I had always had a knack for creative writing, and I knew I loved the Gotti boys, so let's put them together and use them to bring the world happiness. 

Months passed and the show got better and so did my writing and my relationships I was building online - I met some who were a little less than the brightest crayon in the box, but I connected with girls all over the world. I had friends from England, Canada, Australia, California, Pittsburgh, Jersey - you name it and I knew someone there. It was a great feeling to know that I had these real relationships that I had built based on three guidos from Long Island. 

My stories were getting a ton of attention, as well as the stories by my friends - we were spotlight writers, our request threads were the longest, and we were being nominated for competitions. For a brief period of about five years, I was internet famous - thanks to fan fiction and the Gotti boys. 

I share this now, as a period of reflection - thinking about who I was before my professional self took over, and who I really am at the end of the day. Watching the marathon today, and tweeting the girls who I met so many years ago, made me so nostalgic and it warmed my heart to remember that for a moment, we were internet famous. As I reread the stories we wrote then, I laugh at how absurd some of them are, but mostly, I smile and remember that nerdy teenage girl who built friendships that have lasted her a lifetime. 

So, as I get ready for a week of my real life, I smile and say thank you to the Gotti boys for my moment of internet fame and my friends who have last far longer than that. 
- xo, Lucy