Down the Rabbit Hole: When push comes to shove, you taste what you're made of

I hit my point this week. Driving down to State College late Thursday night I had a minor melt down. The weight of the world came crashing down on me and I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through. After a moment pulled over on the side of the road, some where inside me I found that extra strength, that glimmer of hope, and my passion. Student teaching is stressful, life is stressful, and starting a new stage in life is stressful. I know I haven't been taking time to reflect and relax, my me time has vanished into assignment time, class prep time, and time spent preparing my classroom. After my mini melt down I have realized that I need to find a way to channel my stress and find an outlet, and more importantly stick to that outlet.

Now last week wasn't a horrible week in fact it was a great week, but the toll of making it a great week just took away that me time and I never got it back. Last week was a short week since Friday I had to be in State College for a student teaching seminar. Some highlights of last week include

my milk defects lab
making ice cream
palpating rabbits
my first OAC meeting
planning banquet
mixing "pesticides" in Landscaping
"Welding" with icing
collecting sap
boiling maple sap

"Welding" with incing... as much as the Ag Mech boys would love to get out and burn some rod, we figured we should practice beads and types of welds

In intro this week we finished our milk science week in food science. We made ice cream, learned about the dairy foods CDE and had a milk defects lab! I really enjoyed this lab and I think the students did too.

We are in full swing of planning the 75th Albion FFA banquet celebration! I am so excited to be a part of this team and help plan a banquet and guide students through the process.

Our babies are due on the 13th of April, and I think I may be the most excited one! I can not wait to have little bundles of fur and cuteness!

Over all week 11 was great, spring has finally reached us ( I think) and I can start to feel the excitement in the air. I may have had my first melt down, but I know I have made a full recovery. Seeing the excitement and passion at my OAC meeting on Wednesday has really brought me back on track to what all I have ahead of me. I know I am stepping into some awesome opportunities and I can not wait to get my hands dirty and build up Union City FFA!

Working as "head tech gal" for checking in and out
buyers

I also had a chance to take a trip home this week which has really brought me back down to earth. Seeing my family and friends is always a way to recharge and get back on track. We had our annual 4-H auction and I got to see a lot of familiar faces and new faces excited about youth development and Lawrence County 4-H. I always love giving back to the organization that gave me so much!

So for now, I'm going to remember to take some time to focus on me and dedicate a few moments during the day to take a breath and relax. Because life is always going to be stressful, I just need to learn how to handle it.

Till next time...