Slow Down You Crazy Child

Slow down you're doing fine, you can't be everything you want to be before your time. - Billy Joel, Vienna

It has been 23 days since my last post. Between theatre rehearsals, coordinating programs outside of work, teaching (with all the paper grading), and the holidays, having a life has been pretty nonexistent. That includes any sort of writing here at Certainly Candid until today.

So why today, even though I'm still as busy as ever? Writing is one of my joys and passions. I have to remember to take the time for it, even when it means putting another task on the back burner. It keeps me sane, especially on the days when all I feel like doing is taking a nap. But as we all know, life doesn't stop for us. As such, I keep up the busy life I lead. Don't get me wrong: I love it. However, some days I have to tell myself to slow down, or as Billy Joel so aptly put it: slow down, you're doing fine, you can't be everything you want to be before your time.

Slow Down You Crazy Child

It always gets done. This is the one thing I've learned in life to be true. Everything, at some point or another, always falls into place. Please note: I didn't say it would necessarily go the way you wanted (because honestly, that is unrealistic).

My first two years of teaching were intense. I was responsible for 5 classes. I'd be teaching The Great Gatsby to sophomores, then Romeo and Juliet to the freshmen while teaching my Advanced Composition seniors APA formatting and persuasive research writing. And between that, I was teaching 7th graders short story writing and my upper level Modern Literature course Inherit the Wind. I enjoyed it all (and I even miss it some days!) but it is hard to switch gears like that each and every day. Then the units would change, and it would be Julius Caesar, and The Odyssey, and literary analysis writing on Fahrenheit 451. Or play adaptations of A Christmas Carol and Holocaust literature like Night.

I loved it, but to say I was exhausted is putting it mildly. And because I have a huge ambition complex, I wanted to go above and beyond on every unit, every assignment, every lesson plan. I wanted my students to love everything. This doesn't just apply to my career - it is every other aspect of my life. If I don't know how to do something, I want to learn. To be better. To go above and beyond, regardless of the task.

But all things take time. And I worried I wasn't doing enough, wasn't really applying myself as much as I should. It was needless worrying. I'm still ambitious. I know I have new places to go, new people to meet, and new obstacles to overcome. I don't, however, have to do it all right now. So slow down, you crazy child.

I promise not to wait 23 days until my next post. With the new year right around the corner, I will be writing about my resolutions for 2015 soon. And until then, I'm going to take some time to slow down. I hope you will too. Cheers.