I want to start this post by saying that the work I am doing right now is really hard. It's really hard in many different ways. First off, I don't think teaching kindergarten is necessarily an easy task for anyone. For the majority of kids, this is their first experience ever with any sort of school structure. It's hard to keep kids in their seats some days, let alone get a solid lesson off where you feel your students really understood what you were taking about. Plus there can be added pressures of teaching in a charter school in a low income community, which is my experience. Let's just say that my experience has not included a lot of me time. I'm not complaining, although I may not have chosen all of the circumstances, I chose to do this work. I learned a little bit this weekend however, about the importance if taking a little bit of me time.
Being a school teacher it is important that you are giving yourself to the work. That you are truly investing yourself in the kids. It's just part of the work. It is a very unselfish career. It just has to be. But in that, you can only do so much before your battery starts getting critically low. I've especially seen that by balancing a very demanding job, with graduate school on top of it. I have felt worn very thin many many times since I moved to New York. That's something that I've learned to get used to. But I've also really learned how important it is to take some time to yourself. And not just a time to relax, although that time is very important too, but some time to really get out and do something for yourself!
Up until this week, I've definitely been taking the weekends for granted. I've taken time to rest, which is very important. I usually stay in my apartment and lounge. I will have my long list of to dos to get done and when they were finished I would order out and watch a flick or two. That's the general extent of my weekend. Every once in a while I'll remind myself that I live in New York and that I need to get out and do something because there is just so much out here! Then I think, maybe next weekend... Boo! Worst attitude! As important it is to rest, is important to enjoy your life so that it's not the same monotonous grind! I decided that was not going to be the fate of my weekend this week!
It may not have been huge, but I had an adventure this weekend that made me remember how great it is to do the things you love! Yesterday afternoon I bought a ticket to see my first show in Broadway performance since I moved out here. It was definitely long overdue!
The show started at 8 so I decided to head out at around 6 to give myself a little time to meander around time square before the show. I hopped on the 2 train and started my trek into the city. Little did I know that the train would soon be evacuated and I was about to have a mini adventure. After about 25 minutes on the train the conductor came over the intercom saying that there was a fire on the tracks and that everyone had to get off. I was a nervous about the fire and little annoyed that it had delayed my plans, but I had planned extra time into my trip so I figured I would be fine.
When I got above ground I was surrounded by flashing lights. I saw fire trucks crammed into these tiny streets with people scurrying around them and then I looked up and realized where I was when I saw the World Trade Center just a couple blocks away and my memory flashed back to 13 years ago. I saw the flashing lights around me and I pictured how some of these trucks next to me may have been in that very spot 13 years ago rushing to the aid of those at the towers. The flashing lights, the people scurrying made me feel as if for a second I was there on that fateful day.
I decided I would take a little walk to ground zero. I had so many somber thoughts as I stared at the building. I thought about the many people who had lost their lives there. Those who went into work on just a normal day, but never left the building. I remembered watching the television in my eighth grade English classroom and feeling a deep sense sorrow for anyone directly affected by this tragedy. Those feelings of remorse crept back into my heart as I stared at that monument yesterday. However, as I stared I was also filled with a deep sense of Americanism as I looked at the beautiful building built in the place where the two towers once stood. A true visual of getting back up after someone knocks you down. I sat and soaked it all in for a couple of minutes.
My wonderful experience continued when I found another train that would take me up town. I got to time square and just took in all the lights and the hustle and bustle. This is New York. This is what everyone comes to see. So much happening in such a small area. It's incredible! I walked to the Shubert Theater, picked up my ticket for Matilda the Musical, and went inside. I felt so at home waiting for the performance to start. I was reminded how much I love live theater. I love the anticipation of waiting for a performance to start, both on the side of the actors and on the side of the audience. It's a beautiful thing! I was ready to be taken away by the performance!
The performance was brilliant to say the least! I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish! I can't even begin to describe how majestic it all was! I'm still getting chills just thinking about how wonderful it all was! Wow!
After it was all over I headed back home feeling fulfilled that I had had my own little adventure. I didn’t just sit and relax. I took some me time and made the most of it. I didn’t know that I was going to get evacuated from the subway and have that experience last night, but I made time to make a memory and the memory made itself. I surely do love the time that I get to relax, watch a movie, sleep in, but down the road am I going to say, “I wish I had taken more time to sleep in my life!” I doubt it. It’s right now that I can take more opportunities to live my life and enjoy what I can while it’s here. I hope that there is not a single thing that I can look back on and say, “I wish I would have done that while I lived in New York!” I don’t know for sure how long I will be here, or anywhere for that matter, but I intend to make the most out of every situation that I am in and I challenge you to do the same! Seriously though, you’ll go crazy if you don’t.
