We finally got January-style weather here. It's a good morning for staying on the couch with a blanket in my lap and two sleepy cats snuggling with me while I take care of the last work-related chores before new semester begins. At least the academic year is halfway over, and Spring tends to be the semester that provides more fun for me. I can't say why. Maybe it's the "halfway over" part.
Aside from one extremely irritating element that's beyond my control at the present time, I feel good about the coming semester, and am looking forward to getting it done. A decade into my current post, I'm comfortable and confident. I know how to get most things I want accomplished. I pretty much know how to finesse any situation; which ones require an iron hand and which ones need the velvet touch. I've seen enough to discern when a student's shooting straight with me and when a student's laying down enough bull by-product to fertilize the Mojave. I've also lived through enough crises and turmoil to know what's worth worrying about, and what's probably going to blow over. I've developed the ability to endure, and surviving various crises in my life has taught me that if you're able to grit through it, you'll probably prevail - for, as the saying goes, no adversity lasts forever.
For me, the new semester is about showing up and performing. The homework's been done. Everything's ready. I just have to go out there and do my thing, while not letting the tedium get to me. I'm sure there will be a crisis or two along the way, as there always is; I'm also sure people will come to me wanting my assistance for one project or another, and I'll face the challenge of appropriately rationing myself (one of my resolutions for the new year is strengthening my ability to say "no" or "I decline" at appropriate times).
It's going to be a good semester. With the planning already done for work, and with the plan for my personal life all set, I feel better about things than I have in a long time. Let's get it started.
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