Sunday, Feb. 1st – My Bed & Bosley’s

3 images from my workplace this weekend. I hope you enjoy my selfie…I have definitely looked better.

I never expected as early as week 3 to fail my goal of going on a nature walk every Sunday…but here we are. Now, let me tell you how I got here.

It all started with a little tickle in my throat on Wednesday, which led to a bigger tickle on Thursday, and on Friday morning, I woke up feeling extremely sick. I tend to get sick pretty easily, my immune system is poor, and for the past 13 months, I have gotten sick at least once a month. But today’s blog reflection is not meant to get into the whirlwind of confusion that is my health problems. Today, I want to discuss the importance of resilience, showing up to handle your responsibilities, but also recognizing when you need to take a break.

If my friends read this, they would laugh, because when do I ever take a break? I would be lying if I said that this weekend I did. You know that sickness I felt Friday morning? Welp, I still have it, but that did not stop me from masking up and heading to work Friday…Saturday…and Sunday. 20 something hours of my weekend were spent working at Bosley’s, stocking treats, meeting pups and doing things someone should not do while sick. Now my consequence for getting no rest this weekend is an even worse sore throat, no voice, but an extra boost to my bank account 😏. But my body aches, and my only wish is that I had spent some time resting the past 3 days so that maybe I could have gone out this Sunday morning to complete my goal.

Despite my failure today, I feel confident in knowing that I will show up for myself next weekend. I will rest, work (of course), and on Sunday, February 8th, I will go out for my morning walk. This is the beauty of an inquiry project. There is no need to hide the challenges and the road bumps along the way. This is about the process. If a university student, working 2 jobs, and taking 6 courses, was able to go out every Sunday for a walk, no issues, scheduling conflicts, sickness, or stress… I would know they were lying. Inquiry projects should be truthful because life is already full of overly saturated expectations of what pace and level each person should work at. My truth is that I did not have the time, energy, or health to go out, and that’s ok.

Educational Connection

I have no exact curriculum-related lesson I want to draw from my day, but I would like to take this chance to offer some life lessons I would teach my future students in response to my experiences.

It is okay to make mistakes. If you are a goal-oriented, hard worker like I am, it is difficult to allow yourself to take a break. Sometimes it can feel like you are letting yourself down, your family, or your teachers and employers. I feel that always. I felt that every day of this weekend, when I picked up the phone to almost call in sick, but I showed up anyway. I pride myself on my resilience and drive to do more in this world for my future self, but with the way I feel today, I now know it’s important to listen to your body. One day of rest will not end progress or slow down the pathway to success; it will refuel and rebuild that motivation and passion.

I hope to teach my future students about setting boundaries with others and themselves. I want to let them know that the world will keep spinning if they take one day to rest, and that working too hard can sometimes negatively impact both one’s mental and physical well-being. Being out in nature is great, and I love connecting my inquiry to outdoor education and how it helps general health. The truth is, though, sometimes you just need to be indoors and in bed resting. That’s what I hope the future kids in Ms. C’s class will know.