I don’t often get relatives visiting me here in Austin, but I come from such a big family that I inevitably have distance cousins in every major city. One such cousin, who I last saw when he was a toddler, is now all grown up and recently graduated from the Austin Police Academy this past Friday.
His parents flew in from Cascade, VA to witness the start of their son’s second career, after successfully completing a stint in the military. I figured that I could make the ten-minute drive from my apartment to witness his special day, visit with some relatives and that fueled me to sit through three hours of ceremony.
One particularly poignant moment for me was when Austin Chief of Police Art Acevedo gave his advice to the newly graduated police officers. He warned them not to let “the job” be their entire lives. They should always make time for family, friends and outside interests or run the risk of being eaten alive. His exact words were ,”or else this job will eat you alive.”
I’m currently in my third year at my high school and it’s the worst one yet, in terms of the administration. It’s interesting how my classroom and the interactions with the students have greatly improved over time, but the administration has continued to gather more weapons in their arsenal to use against teachers.
Never have I heard so many teachers complain against a school administration before. And yet, at this moment, the only thing that’s preventing me from being eaten alive is my sheer determination to fully enjoy my life outside of school. Every weekend, I’ve planned at least one interesting, enriching thing to help revitalize myself.
I suffered insomnia two weeks in a row and knew that something had to change, either my attitude or my situation. I chose the former since I’m in control of myself and can take actions to minimize the hostility and stress that the administration is purposely waging against us teachers. I dutifully attend both capoeira and bikram yoga twice a week to keep both my mind and body running well.
I usually find some cultural fun to take advantage of. This weekend it was the Mediterranean Festival, where, to my delight, I saw many salseros and tangueros among the crowd of festival goers. Although none of us knew much about the traditional dances, we did our best.
I refuse to be eaten alive. I will live life to the fullest and continue to bring as much creative energy to my classroom as I can while the administration, for its part, does everything in its power to prevent me.