A Lesson Learned

It is the official countdown until Summer Break begins! This can mean different things to different people. Your teachers are expecting projects,  presentations or for you to remember most of what they hoped you learned in the course, in paper or final exam format. For many people like me that often time means, grind time, especially if you have been a friend of procrastination. For those o f you who have  never been experience grind mode,  this means lots of resilience, less sleep, high caffeinated drinks and good  snacks. Along with this, came an extra  lesson learned, free of charge. 

A couple of weeks ago, I made the bittersweet decision to stay up working late. Why bittersweet? Because I worked hard  until 4am knowing I had to wake up at 6:30am that same day. I could barely stay awake and focus but I was determined to finish up a lesson  plan I was working on earlier that day. By 3:30am I kept awaking  to random thoughts or dreams typed into my lesson plan template. The good thing is, I finished it and still woke up at 6:30am, rolled out of bed and started my day as normal. The bad part is, I payed for that lack of sleep in multiple ways that day.

For many of you who begin your  days around 6:30am, you know how vital sleep is to your day. Being at school with 20+ students for the day, requires rest the night before. Two and a half hours of sleep is nothing  a  teacher would want to play around with. I could barely stay standing without feeling my body begin to rest after being  still for more than one minute. I couldn't sit down for more than 30 seconds without my eyelids slowly coming down. To top it off, my teacher was called to leave  because her daughter  broke a bone in gym. I  was quickly called to  step in, finish our read alouds, see that the class rats Gabby and Gracie were cared for,  send the class to gym, complete the math  lesson for the day and end the day with a science lesson and distribute homework. You all should have seen  my face when I tried to convince myself and my cooperating teacher that  we would be fine while she ran to her  daughter's side. With one of my student's sign interpreter there to encourage me, I made it through the day. That load of responsibility truly woke me up. 

I lost  my keys and was so close but so far away  from my bed that I slept in my hallway until my roommate came home. Two hours into my nap I found out via Instagram that my roommate who  stayed up  until 4am with me was in the hospital. She cut her hand at work and bled for about an hours before they sent her to the hospital. Unfortunately, on her way out the door she fainted and  busted her head. The crazy part is she only thought about the work she wasn't able to get done due to the situation.

I share my  story with my  fellow bloggers to encourage someone out there is who procrastinating as you read. Someone who is  in grind mode right now or if you are simply someone who enjoys a good story. Please, care enough about  yourself  to avoid putting yourself in this predicament. Be mindful of the stress you put on your mind and body to avoid it shutting down on you. And know, just because some people can survive off those habits, your body clock may not be about that life. I realized, I'm not about that life. That was an eye opening lesson learned the hard way. 

Ms. Christine.