Today, I started back to classes for the spring semester. I did so after having my life turned absolutely upside down this past week. I also just did seven hours of coursework while caring for an ill family member, coordinating some care for another ill family member, organizing some much needed resources for a very dear, incredibly ill friend, and oh yes, I am also ill, with some sort of virus.
It's been a trying day.
But, all of my training that I have been working so hard on over the last few years kicked in. When I wanted to just dissolve into a pile of poor me goo, I didn't. I just time blocked what I needed to do, assessed what I could control, and got to work.
Now, I am not going to say the day was pleasant, but I did get it all done, and I did learn some amazing things in the process, both in the realm of my education path and about myself.
One, I am not afraid to ask for help anymore. In fact, I am getting good at it. A couple of my classes went hard right out of the gate with group meetings requirements, and usually I would jump right in and start organizing. In one class, this amazing classmate of mine took initiative, and when she reached out to me, I let her know a little of what I was currently navigating, that I would be a very devoted participant, and just how much I appreciated her taking the lead on coordinating everybody, because quite honestly, I just don't have it in me today.
She was absolutely amazing, she even offered to help me in any class we shared together this semester. I felt blessed. And humbled.
The second area is I am really embracing the progress not perfection mindset. I block out what I desire to get done, triaged in a manner of most important task to lesser so, and don't beat myself up if I have to delay things or not accomplish them in a superhuman manner. I am learning, and have learned, to take care of myself.
There were quite a few times today, when my eyes were blurred with sinus pain or when my thyroid gland was all sorts of swollen due to viral attackage that I just wanted to go crawl back into bed. But I didn't, I kept going.
And even though it wasn't the way I wanted to start this semester, as I learned to navigate the most amazing human biology software we are using this spring, I realized that I still was beyond elated to just be here, alive, and learning. Yes, my current situation is more than a bit overwhelming, yes, I feel like absolute crap, but I live in a time where I can explore the plasma membrane of a cell and its lipid layer and protein passing structures in 3D detail at the tips of my fingers in full 1080HD! We live in the most amazing time, and I am not going to let a little adversity wreck my enthusiasm or attitude regarding that fact.
And now, now I am going to go get a cup of tea and take a much needed nap and break.
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's currently far more perky than she is iPhone.
