Forgive me, blog subscribers! I have been going through a lot of transition on many facets of my life lately – socially, emotionally, fiscally, intellectually, and physically (in less than two weeks).
I realized that it would be a pretty boring blog if I only wrote about all the wonderful things that happen in my life. Life is not always wonderful! It can be difficult, riddled with hardship and sacrifice, and it wouldn’t be fair to ignore that portion of life in order to maintain the unrealistic facade of perfection. It would almost be liking dumbing my material down and you all are way too smart for that!
But don’t worry. Sustained amounts of self-pity and negative self-talk is not my style. A balance must exist, exposing both the ying and yang to make my experiences real and more importantly, give us all a wider and more varied perspective on the good and bad.
With that, here we go!
The move for the new job in my beloved NOLA occurs in less than two weeks and I am making plans for every step of the process. Luckily, the only “major’ piece of furniture I proudly own is a white nightstand I bought used with crystal-like knobs and picturesque design. Everything else I classify as “stuff” - toiletry stuff, kitchen stuff, wardrobe stuff, past-time stuff, etc. All that “stuff” will have to fit in my car or it’s getting tossed. Talk about SPRING CLEANING!
But life never hands you just one “obstacle” at a time. I am also ending the semester with my classes, forced to start Final Exam season prematurely because of the move. I would like to say that all of my students were completely understanding and sympathetic to this change of plans but I can’t. I’m pretty fragile right now so all the unnecessary criticism and requests (especially coming at the END of the semester, the most stress-ridden time of the semester for every faculty member, staff member, student, and member of administration) are cutting me pretty deeply. I had to take a mental health day today and have office hours through email just to collect myself.
To keep perspective, I keep reminding myself that no matter how hard it is for me right now, it will be that much more sweet two weeks from now when I moved to New Orleans for the summer in a furnished sublet in walking distance from the Quarter and exciting cafes, bars, and other excursions while I begin my teaching training and start work in the following month. And then there is the Essence Music Festival that I have always wanted to go but never had the money for. I will BE THERE this year! It’s kind of amazing how life can turn on a dime. I already have a short tally of colleagues who are coming to visit me this summer. Maybe I’ll charge a small fee. What do you think?
It also kind of interesting to know that a year ago, the BP Oil Spill occurred and changed the future of the Gulf Coast drastically. I have mixed feelings about this. While I am happy that NOLA and other major cities in the Gulf have made an effort to resurrect themselves from the tragedy as best they can, I think the tragedy is still happening even if the news stops covering it. People who depend on the healthy life of the Gulf for survival are still being victimized and the powers that be (i.e. BP) STILL have not fixed the problem nor done what is RIGHT and FAIR. The company KNOWS what needs to be done yet nothing is happening and you know who suffers? The good people at the bottom of the food chain who only want to work hard and provide for themselves and their families. It feels like Katrina all over again.
The only solace I can have is that I have an opportunity to make a difference on my working vacation this summer. I get to work as a teacher through an institution outside the reach of school board bureaucracy and greed to reach my students and their parents in a pragmatic and holistic way that I have never been able to do before. It’s a great honor! Wish me luck!
