Abrupt Halt: Brick Wall Leads to Important Realization

Photo by edler_d

By Trudi Arnold — I  hit a brick wall last week.

The wall was a tangible feeling of exhaustion that included feeling physically beat up and mentally drained. My schedule is horrendous and I have high expectations of myself for how much work I should get done in a day. When I don’t achieve what I expect, I take work home and have no time to read fiction or decompress.

Some days it’s all I can do to get from one place to the next and feel like I’m prepared for what I’m supposed to be doing. One day I completely forgot which client I was meeting; thought it was a client from the other location. Even though I made a quick enough recovery, I felt terrible that I would allow myself to get that bad. The kicker was the evening I had to co-facilitate a group. It was the first group, so I didn’t have much responsibility yet. It took every ounce of my willpower to stay awake, to listen, to pay attention to group members and when I left my internship that night, I knew something had to change.

I went for a massage and went to bed early.

That weekend I decided to do something drastically different and NOT do any work at home. It felt good and by the time Monday rolled around, I had a clearer head. Maybe some boundaries made sense accompanied by some techniques to stay focused and not let myself get overwhelmed.

I teach my clients these techniques all the time. And they leave sessions and come back to the next one telling me that what I recommended helped them a little.

You see, when I hit that wall, the sign on it read: “What do you tell your clients when they hit this wall? Do it.”

Miss Praxmarer, Miss Prax, Miss P, Prax….. Julie?

By Julie Praxmarer, Student Teacher Blogger — I am concerned that my students may not always see me as a teacher.

Sure, many of the students call me “Miss Praxmarer.” But, some call me “Miss Prax,” or “Miss P.”  All of the girls I coach at Whitefish Bay High School call me “Prax.”

But last week during class, a student called me “Julie.” It caught me completely off guard.

He apologized immediately and mumbled something about how he just guessed my first name … and that he knows other people who call me Julie (girls I coached last year probably).  In response, I reminded him that I am a teacher and that it is not appropriate to call me by my first name.

I found myself wondering if I was over-thinking the situation. It seemed like an accident, but maybe he was actually pushing the limits with me, as many students tend to do with an authority figure? Either way, it caused me to look at my whole approach toward my students and life.

Although I am still only 21 years old, I feel that I’m transitioning into an entirely new part of my life. I am still guilty of watching teen shows like “Gossip Girl” and going to see the latest Nicholas Sparks’ movie. I also know I’m not the only 21 year old that does that. The problem is — so are my high school students. I can actually carry on a conversation about these TV shows or movies.

Is that bad? Is there not enough separation between the interests of my students and myself, even though technically we are in the same generation?