~:[CH15 - Day 250]:~ Setting the Bar

 
~:[CH15 - Day 250]:~ Setting the Bar

It was a recovery day today. I sorted through my files and transferred what I needed to,. I began catching up on work that I hadn't gotten to. I even had a little time to rest. I truly was exhausted. However, as I thought about the concert from last night, I was blown away with the idea that this group is in the middle of a tour when they traveled to so many places and sold our stadiums like they did tonight. Others have come before them in these types of arenas, but the scale of what they did and the enthusiasm behind it, is something that I haven't seen. I definitely enjoyed the beautiful visuals of the stage and the amazing performances, but what I liked most is that it made me think of how I can push myself to raise the bar on my own goals. How can I do something on another level and raise the bar? How do I keep excelling and never settle without becoming too exhausted? Where do I find that balance? There are a lot of questions as you journey to improve yourself and push yourself, but if you want to set the bar, it doesn't come without the risks. Even if you're not aiming too high, trust in yourself and allow yourself to authentically be yourself while pushing forward to pursuing excellence. When you do what you love, it seems to be a lot easier to put in the time and effort to chase after your dreams. 

~:[CH15 - Day 249]:~ Truly Magical

 

~:[CH15 - Day 249]:~ Truly Magical

It was incredible to see my former athlete on stage. As a freshman he was quite. We did our best to make him apart of our team and he always came along, even if he hadn't found his voice yet. Fast forward to today and he spoke on stage in front of an entire ballroom of people. Not only did he give a speech today, he became a teacher who lectures in front of his students regularly, having to do something that wasn't easy for him not long ago. There was a lot of talk of overcoming obstacles and boundaries and I was touched by his words. Watching him dance on the dance floor later on, reminded me of our dance unit we held during PE years and years ago. It was a nostalgic moment, but also one that reminded me about the magic of our roles as educators. While we often use our meetings to talk about data, there is no data that can measure our ultimate reach. Learning how to score well on a standardized test to help our school's data, pales in comparison to see the growth of a student. I'm not saying it's not important, but there are many more measures to success than what we are looking at today. For those with students who haven't entered high school yet, I think it's definitely a valid point to consider. Where will they thrive the most? To see students thrive is what I hope for and something I have to remind myself of daily. I often veer of track with the stress of everything weighing down, but I must remember that in order for the magic to happen, I must fulfil my role and help provide the experiences these students need to help them find their voice. Congrats on your truly beautiful and magical union!

~:[CH15 - Day 248]:~ Community

 
~:[CH15 - Day 248]:~ Community

The moment we begin eating, I smile. We made it. Every year, getting to the finish line is the key goal at the Great Cow Run. For the athletes, they want to pass in the fastest time. For me, I want to get through it with minimal issues. As I look around, I am so grateful for all those who make this work. I see the parents who come year after year, the coaches and athletes who do their part, and the alumni and other supporters who show up year after year. This year, I had a few groups of alumni sign up and they ended up coming up clutch in making the meet work. It's also nice when you have to do very little instructing on the day of, as everyone takes on their role and moves forward. It takes a community to make things work and I am truly grateful to have our ohana. It's always nice to see everyone year after year and I am truly appreciative that they simply show up. At the end of the day, I smiled knowing we had crossed the finish line and it was only because of the community who uplifted me along the way. Thank you again for helping us maintain this wonderful event.

~:[CH15 - Day 247]:~ Enroute

 
~:[CH15 - Day 247]:~ Enroute

I got an email today and I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The past few weeks have been ones I don't want to relive again. There was nothing devasting happening, but rather, it was a unwanted stress that kept me away from smooth sailing no matter how hard I worked. With so much on my mind, it was nice to celebrate the top five nominees in a beautiful setup by ASB which transported us to paradise. However, the road ahead today would be exhausting. I looked forward to the end of the day, but knew that the route to get there would be a little rough. Regardless, I set my destination and followed my route. We know that are moments in life that are more demanding than others and it's in these moments that we roll up our sleeves and get to work, knowing that it's part of the journey. We may not like it, but sometimes there's just not much we can do about it. Dig your heels into the ground and get ready for those challenging moments in life as when we begin our journey to our destination, when we are prepared for these challenging moments, our route becomes a lot more manageable. Congrats to the top five and a big shoutout to our wonderful ASB!

~:[CH15 - Day 246]:~ Learning the Ropes

 
~:[CH15 - Day 246]:~ Learning the Ropes

MUN is quite intimidating for freshman. You walk into a class that is not as clear cut as the core classes. You hear terminology on a regular bases you are not familiar with. There are not as many people who can help support you, as it's not as familiar to most. That's why we must do our best to practice and to learn. This stretch also allows the students to interact and also learn how to ask questions and seek help, which is a valuable foundation for MUN students. Even veterans will come across topics they are unfamiliar with. However, int he end, these students are rewarded in the end by facing up to the challenge and not backing down. There will be moments of tough lessons, however, in most cases, even if they fail, they'll be a valuable lesson learned in the process. MUN can be brutal, but the difficult moments often lead to the greatest growth. I look forward to how these students will change over time and it all will begin with moments like these where they have no clue what is going on, rather then simply trust the process and begin walking the sometimes difficult (yet rewarding) tightrope that is MUN.

~:[CH15 - Day 245]:~ Let's Cool Off & Chill

 
~:[CH15 - Day 245]:~ Let's Cool Off & Chill

It's been hot lately, but it's beginning to cool off a bit, which was nice. Still yet, it's been nice to be able to cool down a bit during this stressful week. Food runs are not a thing that many cross country team does, but taking the time out of the training schedule to let the athletes bond together is more valuable than coaches may think. You lose out on miles, but you can often gain bonds that end up netting more than those miles will end up doing. In any case, today was a much needed chill moment amid a very busy stretch of days. Once I got home, I focused right back in on getting work done, so I was glad to have this moment, even if it was just for a short while. Let's all take a little time out of our schedules and invest it into ourselves as while it may seem like we are wasting time, it may end up netting better results in the end. 

~:[CH15 - Day 244]:~ Stress Relief

 
~:[CH15 - Day 244]:~ Stress Relief

It's been quite the rollercoaster start to the week. Tonight, I was supposed to go to the BTS concert, but I knew how busy it would be and thus I unloaded the tickets awhile back. Dealing with some different variables this week, the stress has been higher than in most years. It's not something I wanted, but you learn to deal with it. I always have multiple plans in place, so adjusting to the changing landscape wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still was stressful. Of course, what better way to relieve some of that stress than to take a quick visit across the way to take my daily selfie. It's nice to chat or joke around. He has to hear my complaints from time to time, but most of the time, it's just jibberish talk, but somehow it makes me feel better. Life is stressful, especially when the flow is off, so hopefully we can all find a way to unload that stress so we can keep moving forward, not being dragged down by the weight of life.