A Modern Writer's Adventures and Misadventures: December 2010

Stress

Yesterday I watched a documentary on the effects of stress. I didn't realize how bad it was for you. It can cause chromosomes to break down faster, cause heart attacks, kill brain cells, and cause people to gain weight. If a woman is pregnant, her stress can affect her fetus. Not only that, but stress today affects health when people get older.

That scared me. I'm 23, and under stress constantly as a first-year teacher. I don't make enough money to suffer all that from one job. Luckily, I already have activities in place to help me to relax each day:

--knitting
--reading
--watching 30 min-1 hour of TV
--eating well
--keeping my apartment clean
--singing
--sleeping

Still, I am concerned about my health later on. American culture idolizes people who work constantly and who are involved in multiple communities. Our culture does not emphasize enjoying life or taking breaks, which contrasts with Europe. I really hope that more people realize the damage stress causes and move towards a European system. I think everyone deserves one month off each year and that everyone has health care. With more vacation time, we reduce our stress, which can keep us healthier in the long run. By having health care, we don't have to stress about being able to fix ourselves if we get sick. Keeping stress levels down also is a check on obesity, which causes many health problems as well. America values science so much and funds research, yet this country does nothing to change its culture to implement the results of that research. It's just like I tell my students: we need more follow through.

Now I'll go get some work done so I have time to relax tonight so my stress does not eventually kill me. :)

About Time...

Well, after a long break, it's about time I continue with my blog....

Not that I have too much time. So this blog will also be about the time I have.

I am a first-year teacher now. I am sure that you've met one of us before. We have no lives. I teach 6 different classes:

1. 6th grade language arts

2. 6th grade social studies

3. 7th grade language arts

4. 7th grade social studies

5. 8th grade language arts

6. 8th grade social studies

I am also highly qualified in Spanish. I could almost run a one-room schoolhouse with all of the classes that I could teach. People also tell me that I am special for working with middle school. Sometimes I see what they mean and other times I think I'm the luckiest teacher in the world.

Middle school is great for many reasons. The students are still excited to learn, yet they're innocent...well, most of them. I find that I can teach them the same materials as they might encounter at high school, just slightly slower. On the other hand, hormones are something else. It's always awkward when a parent tells me that his/her daughter got her first period. How should I respond? Congratulations? That's nice? That sucks? Those conversations throw me for a loop.

Lastly, I much prefer teaching middle school to being in middle school. I definitely had the roller coaster hormones. I recall learning a lot and liking my teachers, but when I reflect on my overall mood, my feelings are in black and white; they are dismal and fill me with a low and dreary ache. I hope my students don't feel that way when they reflect...

Still, I have time for a life. I have a boyfriend and I actually see him and spend time with him! I have a few very close friends that I keep in touch with, I sing in a choir and direct another one, and I knit daily.

Ah, knitting. As I tell my students, I'm an old woman stuck in a young woman's body. I knit so much that I sometimes get cramps in my hands, but I love it. Knitting takes away stress. So if I'm knitting constantly and I am still stressed...you get the picture.

Still, I love to knit. It's one of the oldest crafts in the world. I feel more of a connection with the history of humanity when I knit. I am doing the same thing people have been doing thousands of years before. Now I am part of that tradition. Also, when I'm knitting, I can create beautiful things for other people. Instead of being idle (which I never am, anyway), I make pieces for people and they are happy because of it. There are always more challenges with knitting, which I also love because I'm always pushing myself to improve.

So, in the spirit of self-betterment, I will challenge myself to make my first sweater in January. I will write brief, daily updates about the challenges and triumphs. I will also post my work-in-progress. It shall be interesting. Then, since I always look ahead, I would like to do a new pattern a week in March. Again, I will blog about triumphs and hardships, but I think it will improve my craft considerably.

Here's to time! and to knitting!