An aspect of teaching we have not discussed in depth is the importance of preserving our physical and mental health. In one of our very firsts blog posts, Rudi gave us tips and tricks on how to stay healthy in graduate school. She gave us insight on easy ways to protect our health, such as taking mental breaks to do things we enjoy as well as simply just drinking water.
Before starting the semester, I ran a couple miles a day, cooked healthy meals three times a day, and made sure I had at least 8 hours of sleep every night. I made it part of my daily routine to choose an activity, other than running, that involved me being outside and underneath the sun. To foster my personal relationships, I allocated time to make phone calls back to California to check-in with my family, friends, and significant other. I watched documentaries that inspired me and I journaled quite a bit about my future plans. Life was great and I felt even better. Fast forward to today: Life sucks and I feel like dog crap. I haven't worked out since the semester started, I'm eating at Pot Belly's everyday, I sleep irregularly, and I'm semi-monthly binge drinking. I haven't talked to my family in weeks, I've forgotten multiple friends' birthdays, and I feel absolutely defeated.
However, this feeling is very familiar. I remember my last season of soccer, I was performing terribly. My coach, who was not from the U.S. told me, "You need to lose weight. Eat only salads. You are fat."
You can imagine how I took that. I began working out before and after practices, eating minimal meals, forgetting about my social life, and cramming any free time to finish my studies. My physical and mental health were terrible. It wasn't until I started to perform worse that I realized obsessively focusing on improving my job (at the time, being an athlete) was actually making me perform my job worse.
Moral of the story: Get your shit done, but don't devote your entire existence to being a teacher and/or student. It's so important to immerse yourself in the graduate student lifestyle and learn how to prioritize your time. I mean if graduate school were easy, everyone would do it, right? However, there is a difference between abusing your body (and mind) in order to get the job done.
Beyond grad school, we will be incredibly busy. Some of us will have jobs, be married, and pop out a bunch of those gross little humans- I mean babies. We must to be passionate about our roles in life, but also remember that there is a beauty in balancing these roles.
As a teacher, we are expected to wear many hats. There is a phrase in soccer called "a hat trick" that we use to indicate when someone has scored three consecutive goals by one person. Therefore, no one except for that person can make a goal in between the goals that they have scored. Although I was a goalkeeper and wasn't able to have an opportunity to make any goals, being a student-teacher has allowed me to create 3 new goals to achieve, one after the other: Body + Mind + Soul.
#Pedagoalie
Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteWatching you grow throughout this semester has been so inspiring. Even though we're only half way through the semester, I watched as you realized how hard you had to buckle down to get your shit done - and plot twist - YOU DID IT. You continue to get your schoolwork and new teaching responsibilities out of the way.
Even though adjusting to the weight of our responsibilities and trying to combine it with maintaining physical health is difficult, I know you will find a balance that works for you soon. You're doing an incredible job of handling your first semester.
Maybe we TA's should plan a day hike in Oklahoma and all take a day to step away from school and teaching to really indulge ourselves in fresh air for a mental break.
<3 Rudi