Is it possible to add more to your plate?
There’s so much to be said about making it to the other end of the tunnel at the end of the year, at least most teachers can relate to this! I loved every minute of being back at my old high school as a teacher. It was a new challenge, a new learning experience, and more than that a new way to give back to my community and the people in it. I must say not only did I survive happily through the exhaustion, chaos, and craziness of the school year, but I managed to do a few side projects as well. After all, life is supposed to by crazy busy, right?!
I finished my #ProjectKindnessBook which is titled Giving Back: Lessons from an adopted immigrant on why a happy life is about helping others, eloped to Ireland, and coordinated a backpack drive in my local community to help students in need. I was so excited to have lots of my own projects to do this summer including sort pictures, which has been on my ‘to do’ list for ages. And, then I was asked to serve as the community member for the SIU Carbondale Homecoming Committee which is where I do a lot of my volunteer work aside from other misc. volunteer projects I get myself roped up in! I pondered it for the night, curiously cautious about whether I wanted to give more free time. A lot of it over summer. I thought to myself how the heck can I be signing up to give my time to another project? It’s summer and I need to catch up on MY life. And then, I realized just how extremely selfish that is and was to think. I have so much more than the average person and the ability and control to always add more too my plate if I prioritize my projects correctly and use my time wisely. And, you have that same exact power! You can add more to your plate than you probably ever thought or realized. You can seek projects to get involved, find ways to give back by fulfilling disparities within your community, and realizing that life is bigger than you and your life, but about what you can do for others. At the moment, I felt like I needed some rest and relaxation after being a full-time beginning teacher, being newly married, writing a book, and then I remembered that my rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation in life comes from giving back and doing things for others in my ‘spare’ time. I use spare time loosely because I don’t seem to allow too much of that in my life. (Though, don’t let me deceive you, I plan on having a few fun days this summer with family and friends, enjoying the local wineries, and spending time with my husband – who usually helps along with the crazy projects I commit to and doesn’t get annoyed by all the extra time I spend doing things for others.)
The moral of the story isn’t that I make myself do good things or make myself give back or make myself have a passion for my community. It isn’t that I am this phenomenal person who is selfless. It’s just that giving back has become second nature to me in life. I have gotten so used to it being part of my life and who I am. It’s become my passion. I challenge you to join me with your pictures of giving back. Use these when you tag your pictures: #BeKind, #GiveBack, #HelpOthers, and #ProjectKindnessBook.
~jj
#ProjectKindnessBook
#AlwaysChooseKindness