challenging myself

One thing I really liked about the boarding school I worked at was that it really challenged me to grow as a person. That was a huge sense of achievement and accomplishment. And then being on leadership at camp was a similar sense of achievement but a lot more fun. Those things were also exhausting.

Doing afterschool again last year was kind of a step down. Although I got to focus on running and art again and that felt good. The summer camp I worked at this year was also a step down because I was a counselor and the programs weren't as structured. The thing about growth is it's hard and can be stressful and it's nice to just be confident in what you do and not have many surprises. But I also miss growth after a while.

So, anyway, the point of saying all that is to try to frame how I'm feeling about starting teaching this week. I'm nervous. I'm not excited about it. But that's also exactly how I felt before I started at the boarding school. It tells me that I'm going to be challenged and by the end of it I will feel a sense of accomplishment and growth. I'll be a teacher. Which is kinda the one role I haven't checked off my list.

I've been a coach, a camp counselor, a residential counselor, a before-and-after school counselor, a challenge course instructor. Other than teacher I've never been a nanny/babysitter or a tutor.

Around this time a year ago I thought I might go be a counselor at a wilderness therapy program.

This will be a year where I challenge myself. And make more money. That's usually the other upside to challenging myself. The downside is on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll leave the house before 8AM and probably get home close to 7PM. And then try to find time to run. Oof.

Oh well. At the boarding school I used to work 14-15 hour days and then run at like midnight. I've done worse.