lunch with Tupac.

I teach 8th grade English in a very, ahem, urban school. Little to no parental support + raging hormones + a diet consisting solely of Hot Cheetos = my typical student. 78 awkward adolescences. They don't particularly like school; they much rather be "shopping" at the mall while watching J Cole videos on YouTube on their phones. You can imagine how difficult it is to get them to even pretend to be interested in reading and/or writing. Opposition and disinterest only make me all the more determined, so yes, I basically do a song and dance routine on the daily in attempt to somehow grab their attention and then, an even bigger feat, keep it.

Last week I bridged the gap between teacher and student, what they know and I what I know. I educated them on Coachella, and then showed them the Tupac hologram. They sat in amazed silence. They clapped when the hologram disappeared. They asked analytical questions about how holograms are designed. Knowing Tupac gave me about a million cool points and sparked a little creative writing. Believe. xoxo.

"Lord, beer me the strength."

You know those weeks when everything is a little...off? You can't really pinpoint what or who is contributing to this feeling exactly but you feel it, and all you want to do is fix it and feel all warm and fuzzy and normal again. This has been me all week and no, I have not changed my name to Debbie Downer but I have found myself a little overbooked and underwhelmed. Eh, this too shall pass. So maybe my methods are a little conventional, but here are some ways to combat that "eh" feeling, if and when you find yourself in the same temporary state of mind -

A.) Hot Yoga. Rest assure you will be thinking of nothing except holding each pose without passing out from heat exhaustion. I've never really been into or honestly, understood, yoga but I am all about any kind of physical activity that burns 600-800 calories in 70 minutes and improves overall flexibility. Believe. 

B.) Get in the tub. Yep, draw yourself a hot bath and just soak. I do my best thinking and sometimes my best blank stare in the tub. Read a book, sing to yourself, turn your phone off. Bubbles and beverage optional but highly recommend.

C.) Turn the music up and put it on repeat. Roll the windows down and blare your favorite all the way home. Sing to your furniture as you dance around the living room in your underwear. Some statistic somewhere proved that listening to music clears our brains and increases happiness (Adele not included).

D.) Go to dinner with friends. Or cook, what have you. Laughing with your friends whilst eating something scrumptious will make you forget all about that ridiculous "conversation" with your boss or how an eighth grader called you "petty" because you wouldn't allow him to write his essay on "Why Tupac is a Gangsta." 

E.) Sleep. I have been called a robot on more than one occasion, why? Because I can run on very little sleep and often do, however when it catches up it catches up. Take a nap. Fall asleep face down on the couch while "watching 30 Rock" and don't be upset about it. Sleep in an extra ten or so minutes in the morning. Be nice to your body.

If you have followed the aforementioned steps and still don't feel top notch just remember: at least you are not Kanye and rapping about Thera-Flu. Go be awesome.

xoxo.