This first term of the M.Ed. program has come on the heel of some big life events for me which has been both amazing and also very challenging at the same time.
After getting married at the end of July and jetting off to Japan for 3.5 weeks we came home and had two days to settle in before our homestay student arrived for the year, and then I jumped right into the school year. I started the school year taking on two new courses and a homeroom class, and just like every other school, the beginning of the year was jam packed with activities, and school outings that kept me on my toes. Simultaneously, starting our first weeks of class.
All this while trying to find time in my week to continue my marathon training.
Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash
SPOILER ALERT:
If you don’t want to commit to spending 4 hours every Sunday going for training runs rain or shine (and trust me there was A LOT of rain some days…), don’t commit yourself to a marathon.
With all of this happening in my personal and professional life I was really struggling at the beginning trying to balance having school thrown into the mix as well.
One of the things I noticed to be the most challenging for me was the reading.
Not because there was too much of it, but because I was out of practice when it came to reading for an academic purpose. I’ve spent the last 2 years rediscovering my love for reading, and I couldn’t figure out why I was struggling with my required readings. Turns out, it’s because it’s not a mindless read.
Once I was able to make the mental shift of distinguishing my academic reading from the reading I do as a hobby, it became easier. I started practicing the skills I teach my students every day, which in turn has gotten me to reflect on my own teaching practices and how I teach these skills.
The next challenge I faced was working with a partner in a group presentation.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I had a GREAT partner. We worked really well together, had similar ideas, and agreed on the direction we hoped to take the presentation. The challenge for me was learning how to work with someone who was not readily available to work on a project together when I might have time. All my experience in group projects has been done when we are physically together, and I didn’t think about how working on it together digitally and never actually meeting in person would be a challenge for me. This also left me to feel like I was constantly in a balancing act with my own calendar and what I need time to do, while simultaneously making sure I’m not letting my partner down with the rate I was working at.
As we move into the next semester I hope for a couple of things:
- I hope that I am able to find and settle into a good routine.
- I hope to create a schedule that incorporates all of my professional requirements alongside school requirements to help me stay balanced.
- Finally, I hope that as I continue to learn, and grow, that I find ways to share what I learn with others in my life.
Life is busy, I don’t want to feel like I have to put things on hold in my personal life, in order to complete all of my professional requirements and school work, but in order for this to happen I need to refine how I balance my tasks.
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