A New Academic Year (and 113 days).
In education, the first week of September is the pinnacle of the educational year. I jest of course, none of us have any idea what we’re doing. A majority of staff have had most of the Summer off. They’ve all forgotten about that colleague who eats with their mouth open. Or they’ve just forgotten how to do their job. Or even what they do. Or where they are.
Let me explain how much this week has taken out of me by telling you about my Friday.
· Repeatedly woken up in the night by Hubs because I keep punching him in the face.
· 5.30am alarm to drive the Nobber to work.
· Forget to feed dog before walk.
· Throw the Wubba (aka favourite toy) behind me over my head and lose it in a hedge.
· Spend thirty minutes in said hedge trying to find the bastard thing while Smiley whines at me and paces up and down looking for it.
· Lose the treat bag further down the walk.
· Turn around to try and find the treat bag. Lose the dog.
· Find dog chasing a Spaniel around the field. Die a little inside.
· Apologise to owner of Spaniel. Gender identify her dog incorrectly.
· Drop my phone on to concrete.
· Get home, knock my brand new ceramic unicorn coffee cup off the kitchen counter and smash on floor.
· Still forget to feed dog.
· Give dog chicken filled Kong before leaving for work. Realise have still not fed dog. Feed dog.
· Leave house on time and still manage to get to work late.
· Immediately bump into Principle. Whilst arriving late.
· Knock a pile of around 300 coloured overlays off my desk.
· Put said pile back into colour spectrum order and immediately knock them off the desk again.
· Knock other coffee cup over on desk and spray coffee throughout my working life.
· Sit in corner of office, on floor, and wonder why the living fuck life is so hard today.
The difference this time, of course, is that I have made it through the week without a hangover. While I may have had an hilariously shit day, I continued to laugh it off and carry on. Not something I would have been able to do last year.
This year, I have found the courage to take on a new challenge and I begin my PGDE next Thursday, something I have always wanted to do but never had the confidence to go for. Teaching GCSE English now enables me to finally meet the course criteria and not being in the pub every evening enables me to have the time to dedicate to this professional development. The money I have saved by not drinking is paying for it.
This will open up many doors to me and coupled with my Level 7 qualification that I have almost finished (yes, I will be doing both concurrently…), will enable me to continue learning, to complete my Masters, move on to specialist roles or even to complete a PhD. I always said that I would be a Dr one day, if only so that Hubs has to call me that. Because I would insist upon it.
None of this was truly open to me last year. The cost, the time, the confidence all evaded me. Hell, I couldn’t even figure out what I wanted to do, couldn’t find my place in the world. And hadn’t yet realised that my place in this world is where ever I decide it is.
Action for Happiness has 10 keys to happier living referred to as Great Dream.
Giving – Do things for others
Relating – Connect with people
Exercising – Take care of your body
Awareness – Live life mindfully
Trying Out – Keep learning new things
Direction – Have goals to look forward to
Resilience – Find ways to bounce back
Emotions – Look for what’s good
Acceptance – Be comfortable with who you are
Meaning – Be part of something bigger
As part of the personal self development that I started over the Summer, focusing on my emotional and physical health, I am going to continue this throughout my favourite time of year (YEY, AUTUMN IS COMING!) and continue building on the amazing life I have. I can honestly say that I have never been happier than I am now and I can only put that down to cutting alcohol out of my life and focusing on being happy. With the nights drawing in and new challenges arising, I can already see this academic year being the best year ever.
To find out more about Action for Happiness, check the page out here http://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys
Let me explain how much this week has taken out of me by telling you about my Friday.
· Repeatedly woken up in the night by Hubs because I keep punching him in the face.
· 5.30am alarm to drive the Nobber to work.
· Forget to feed dog before walk.
· Throw the Wubba (aka favourite toy) behind me over my head and lose it in a hedge.
· Spend thirty minutes in said hedge trying to find the bastard thing while Smiley whines at me and paces up and down looking for it.
 |
| Look how sad I make her... |
· Lose the treat bag further down the walk.
· Turn around to try and find the treat bag. Lose the dog.
· Find dog chasing a Spaniel around the field. Die a little inside.
· Apologise to owner of Spaniel. Gender identify her dog incorrectly.
· Drop my phone on to concrete.
· Get home, knock my brand new ceramic unicorn coffee cup off the kitchen counter and smash on floor.
 |
| Broken unicorn dreams. |
· Give dog chicken filled Kong before leaving for work. Realise have still not fed dog. Feed dog.
· Leave house on time and still manage to get to work late.
· Immediately bump into Principle. Whilst arriving late.
· Knock a pile of around 300 coloured overlays off my desk.
· Put said pile back into colour spectrum order and immediately knock them off the desk again.
· Knock other coffee cup over on desk and spray coffee throughout my working life.
· Sit in corner of office, on floor, and wonder why the living fuck life is so hard today.
The difference this time, of course, is that I have made it through the week without a hangover. While I may have had an hilariously shit day, I continued to laugh it off and carry on. Not something I would have been able to do last year.
This year, I have found the courage to take on a new challenge and I begin my PGDE next Thursday, something I have always wanted to do but never had the confidence to go for. Teaching GCSE English now enables me to finally meet the course criteria and not being in the pub every evening enables me to have the time to dedicate to this professional development. The money I have saved by not drinking is paying for it.
This will open up many doors to me and coupled with my Level 7 qualification that I have almost finished (yes, I will be doing both concurrently…), will enable me to continue learning, to complete my Masters, move on to specialist roles or even to complete a PhD. I always said that I would be a Dr one day, if only so that Hubs has to call me that. Because I would insist upon it.
None of this was truly open to me last year. The cost, the time, the confidence all evaded me. Hell, I couldn’t even figure out what I wanted to do, couldn’t find my place in the world. And hadn’t yet realised that my place in this world is where ever I decide it is.
Action for Happiness has 10 keys to happier living referred to as Great Dream.
Giving – Do things for others
Relating – Connect with people
Exercising – Take care of your body
Awareness – Live life mindfully
Trying Out – Keep learning new things
Direction – Have goals to look forward to
Resilience – Find ways to bounce back
Emotions – Look for what’s good
Acceptance – Be comfortable with who you are
Meaning – Be part of something bigger
As part of the personal self development that I started over the Summer, focusing on my emotional and physical health, I am going to continue this throughout my favourite time of year (YEY, AUTUMN IS COMING!) and continue building on the amazing life I have. I can honestly say that I have never been happier than I am now and I can only put that down to cutting alcohol out of my life and focusing on being happy. With the nights drawing in and new challenges arising, I can already see this academic year being the best year ever.
 |
| AUTUMN IS COMING! |
To find out more about Action for Happiness, check the page out here http://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys
I love this (and also your blog in general) - the sheer opportunities in life that not- drinking opens up to us, its amazing how much drink holds people down.
ReplyDeleteHappy 113 days to you. 41 here, and I'm trying hard not to be sad at not being at Leeds International Beer festival right now. Maybe next year I'll be strong enough to go and sample some of the AF beer offerings, and listen to my mates repeating themselves after about an hour in..
Red.
Ah, so sorry I have only just seen this comment! Yeah, I missed LIBF this year and was pretty sad about it. Know Indy Man Beer Con is coming up soon too and trying to avoid all mention of it at the moment! Congrats on the 41 days (which I assume are actually 53 days now!), those early days are the hardest but I promise you they do get better. Thanks so much for your kind words, they mean so much to me.
DeleteK