Chicken Fried Rice

My brain is imploding right now. Imploding because no one sees how scattered and stressed I feel! Keeping it all to myself has it's advantages. Everyone at work thinks I'm organized and that I know what I'm doing. Little do they know it's all just a facade... at least, I feel like it. The disadvantages include: not receiving help when I probably need it, not having an outlet to relieve the stress (because it doesn't exist, remember?), wearing myself down by overexhausting myself because I want to get the work that is stressing me out in the first place done, unfortunate run-on sentences. So, what are some stressors in my life right now?

1. My school's use of tech and online resources is beyond me!

-Now, I'm no stranger to using online tools to aid in my teaching, but I swear every one of my students is going to have a million log-ins and passwords to a million different apps and websites. However useful these sites are, it is overwhelming to try and organize all of the things I have to do as the teacher to get it set up.

-How I intend to resolve this issue: Make a list of all the resources, spend about 20 minutes per site to set it up and explore so that I know how to navigate it, make notes of what I can't find/don't understand, ask for help!

2. The first day of school is upon us...

-Impending doom. This seems to be a common feeling amongst the teachers I know. Now, to clarify, I am extremely excited to meet my students and to teach them, but I just feel as though I will never be ready.

-How I intend to resolve this issue: Make a daily schedule that outlines what I am doing with each class, be specific on activities and timing, have a printed copy to refer to throughout the day

3. I'm moving to an island that is far from work...

-I haven't tried the commute from Lamma Island to my workplace yet, but I know I will be tired all the time - mostly because I am going to force myself to get up at 5:00am to be ready to leave my flat by 5:55am to catch the 6:20am ferry to Hong Kong Island. I won't mind the commute time, but I know I'm going to absolutely despise trudging uphill everyday after work in the heat.

-How I intend to resolve this issue: Get all of my work done at school before I go home, relax when I'm at home and do something for myself (ex. paint, read, write a blog post etc.), prepare my outfit, bag, and breakfast before bed every night, go to bed at a reasonable time, wear shorts/t-shirt/runners to work to avoid getting clothes dirty (which I can then change into for my trek home), be positive and remember that going up that giant hill everyday is going to be a workout in and of itself!

4. The time difference from home.

-This is something I struggled with immensely last year in Guangzhou, as well. I always lose track of my life and I don't make enough time to stay in contact with my family and friends back in Canada. I hate that I do this, but it's already starting to happen. Life gets busy on both ends, but I have to put more effort in.

-How I intend to resolve this issue: Set up times with my family and friends to Skype, stick to those times and put reminders in my calendar/alarms for that day so I can't miss them, write these times down in my day planner (yes, I still use a dayplanner), answer messages as I get them and don't leave them sitting unread

5. I really, really, really, really, really miss this one guy..

-Cheesy, sappy, emotional - call it what you want, it's real. I am happy that I'm here in Hong Kong living my dream, but so sad that he's not around. Sometimes when I think of him my emotions get the best of me and I become distraught and frustrated and burst out into tears. Like right now. Ick.

-How I intend to resolve this issue: Let myself be emotional, talk to him a lot, look forward to Christmas time when I get to see him again, remember all the happy times and amazing things that we experienced together, be more positive when I talk to him

Well friends, there you have it. If you got this far, you are seeing the brain of a true existentialist at work. Just kidding, I'm just trying to get myself sorted. Oh, and why the title 'Chicken Fried Rice' you ask? Chicken - because I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off; fried - because I'm fried, drained, exhausted, braindead - you name it; and rice - well mostly because I'm Asian, hahaha. There you have it. The scatterbrain that is Alyse.

#School #Stress