How Do You Want To Spend Your 30s?

This season has given me a nice amount of time to reflect and think about myself and different areas of my life. More specifically, the areas where I’ve been unhappy and heavily discontented. Some things could be better, and I’ve actively been working to improve them.

I know 2020 has not been the year many of us thought it would be. I mean, really, who could have anticipated a disruption like a global pandemic? While it’s certainly been quite a year and a lot of changes have taken place, this was also the year I turned 30. While I was able to celebrate with my family, I had some additional exciting birthday plans fall through, as well as some other things that were delayed and denied because of everything that’s happened. And with these things happening and more, I’ve realized that there will never be a perfect time or ideal conditions to change certain parts of your life you desire change or to make decisions about the direction you want your life to go. I am up to me. And my life is up to me too.

One of the biggest things for me will be eliminating as much stress from my life as I can. And that will involve taking some big risks and incredible leaps of faith that I believe will be good for me. I’m honestly not certain how everything’s going to turn out or work out, but I know this: I deserve better. I deserve to be happy. And I deserve the best. I will not spend my 30s the same way I spent my 20s. I refuse to remain in any situation that brings unnecessary stress in my life or to stay connected to anyone or anything that brings problems into my space, disrupts my peace, and is not adding value or yielding fruit in my life. When I think about different situations I’ve stayed in and hoped and prayed would get better, they only got worse. And I don’t want to live my life like that. I believe I can do better. And so can you.

So let me ask you this, how do you want to spend your 30s? Set aside some time alone and figure it out. You may be surprised what you discover.

A Year Of Being Ghosted

Ghosting: the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication. I’ve been ghosted by every guy I’ve met within the past two years. About six to be exact. · The first guy pursued me and then got shady whenever I asked him about what he did for a living and where he lived. When he started dodging and avoiding questions, wouldn’t initiate dates, and slowly stopped keeping in touch with me altogether, eventually, all communication ceased. · The second guy was someone I met through a family member. He was super cool, very smart, handsome, and funny, but didn’t want to be in a relationship and acted like he didn’t want to be seen with me publicly. When we had plans to meet for an outing, he didn’t show up, and then texted me about a week later with an apology. We chilled at my place a few times, had a few phone conversations, and exchanged occasional texts, but eventually he stopped responding to me

Teacher Table Talk: When Parents Attack

As an English teacher, a core belief I’ve held close since the beginning of my career has been the importance of relationship building. I believe that if great relationships between teachers, students, and parents are established at the beginning of the school year, everything else will fall into place. Authentically modeling, practicing, and establishing mutually respectful and professional relationships within my classroom has been the bridge for effective communication, solid classroom management, and creating a safe and effective learning environment that fits each of my student’s needs. And though I’ve seen and experienced the benefits of great relationship building, unfortunately, there have been times when some students and parents have not been receptive or interested in my efforts to establish connections that would best serve all parties involved. I’ve also noticed and shared spaces with other educators, school counselors, and administrators who’ve experienced the same. And

How To Respond To A Nasty Email

Technology has made many people bold, rude, and incredibly messy. Often to the point where some may hide behind words they’ve typed instead of verbally communicating a message they want to convey. Such can be the case when it comes to sending emails. Ah, emails. You know what they are. Electronic messages that can be quickly drafted, sent, and misinterpreted (because you can’t always interpret tones or emotions through them). Which is why it’s key to know how to respond to nasty emails if they should ever come your way – especially in the workplace. As a working professional, there have been plenty of times when a coworker or superior sent an email my way that was petty, mad disrespectful, and unprofessional. And before I learned how to properly utilize email etiquette, my first instinct would always be to clap back. I just felt the need to respond and to communicate that I wouldn’t allow anyone, no matter who they were, to disrespect me. And while I haven’t taken things too far

Making Waves