Runfessions: Cleavage Sweat & Secret Gloating

Today I'm linking up with Marcia for Runfessions!

#1: Let's start with something weird. A long time ago I read a "catwalk secret" about using deodorant in odd places to prevent sweating when you're trying to look nice. Since then, I've made it a habit to put deodorant on my chest where my bra band sits; it seems to prevent chafing and control my cleavage sweat a little bit!

#2: I am so damn happy that I'm not marathon training this year. Every time I see a long-run post I think, "Glad that's not me!" I was worried I'd feel left out or grumpy about it, but I'm actually over here gloating that I get to sleep in on weekends and most of my runs these days are done in under two hours.

Short runs, I love you!

(You can call me on this next time I decide to run a marathon.)

#3: Earlier this week I was cooking a very healthy dinner of spaghetti squash and shrimp when Matt texted that he wanted burgers. It took me all of 10 seconds to abandon our healthy dinner plan. Sometimes you need a little junk in your life.

Gluten free Philly burger and a banana foster milkshake? Squash and shrimp didn't stand a chance.

#4: Despite posting some really awesome songs last week, I've gotten a little bored of my usual GooglePlay stations and have been totally rocking out to embarrassing music on the "90s Crowd-Pleasing Hits" station this week.

I used to think "Bitch" was the coolest song ever.

#5: I'm actually really glad the Olympics are over. I loved watching them, but I was getting oversaturated! True story: I'm already sick of seeing people post about them - can we just move on?!

That's all I've got! What are you runfessing this week?

ABK

Confession: I'm Scared

This is not at all running related; I needed to get my thoughts out there so I can come to terms and shake this off. What a better way to do that than on TOL Thursday?

Note: I wrote this post before my first two training days, but now that I've gone I feel a bit better. Training has helped me remember that no one expects me to be perfect immediately (or ever) and that I have an entire team of people who can offer support when I need it. But, some of my fears still exist...so I'm still publishing this post.

I began training for my new job this week. From Tuesday to Friday, I'm learning about what's on my plate for this upcoming school year. Beginning July 25, I'll be officially training new teachers. And right now, I'm scared.

I'm scared my students won't have a socially conscious teacher who will openly discuss politics with them. I don't force my views on students; we discuss, question, analyze, and wonder. We come to mutual understandings. They have learned in my class that privilege exists, that racism and sexism exist, that to embrace other's differences is an obligation we all have, and that we must not give up fighting for equality.

Especially in the current political climate, I worry.

I'm scared my students won't get all they deserve out of the Holocaust unit this year, because I won't be there to answer the hard questions and give them knowledge that goes beyond our classroom materials.

I'm scared my students won't ever learn to LOVE writing in any capacity. That they'll brush off poetry; that they'll feel censored when they write fiction. That the new teacher will follow the curriculum map TOO faithfully and miss out on some of the organic moments where true, meaningful learning and growing happens.

I'm scared my students won't have a teacher they can trust. Someone they can truly be open with about fears and stress. Someone who takes them seriously as young adults, not just children.

I told Matt, after I'd been offered this new job, that I know I'm an awesome teacher; I'm great at my job, and I fear I may be doing a disservice to this upcoming class of 8th graders because they'll have someone else. Our other teachers are fantastic but it's hard to give up control, you know?

I'm also scared I'll struggle with my new job. That my anxiety will cripple me or that teachers won't bother to take my advice seriously. That I'll come off as a know-it-all. That I'll lose paperwork or give people the wrong answers. That I'll waste the precious time of my mentors and superiors as they try to help me acclimate.

And I know that I'll be able to take it one day at a time and figure things out and acclimate quickly - I'm truly a fast learner - but I can't seem to stop myself from worrying. I just really want to do my best and be as helpful and useful as possible.

So wish me luck, guys...because this week is the start of my next big adventure and the first time I'll be doing something new in the seven years I've been at my school.

Any words of wisdom or advice?
How do you overcome fear?

ABK

Five Confessions

I've never done a confessions post before, but I love reading them! It seemed about time I jumped on this trend.

Confession 1: On summer break, I regress back to my teenage years and sleep late. Really late. As in, nearly noon. I don't think I'll ever be an early riser!

Confession 2: I'm a slob, but I'm an organized slob! You know that episode of FRIENDS where Chandler opens Monica's secret closet and it's a disaster zone? That's pretty much how I live my life...Mess. But I know where everything is!

Confession 3: People tell me they're jealous of where I live because of the beach, but I actually hate the beach. It's hot, dirty, and takes a lot of work. And honestly, I kind of hate water in general. I'll jump in our pool after a run, but otherwise I rarely go in the water.

When I do get dragged to the beach, this is as close to the water as I get.

Confession 4: Sometimes I wish I had majored in biology. English is my true love, but sometimes I wonder what my life would be like now if I'd followed my other true love.

This could be me! (And if you don't know the story behind this hashtag, read up. It's ridiculously awful with a wonderful ending.)

Confession 5: Click-bait headlines, like the ones that start with a question or the word "why", drive me nuts. I also hate listicle titles, although I'll admit I sometimes get suckered into reading them.

Are you a late-sleeper?

Do you ever regret your college major?

Do you have anything to confess?

ABK