Skip to main content

Isolated Thoughts 🧩

This week on "Being an Assistant Band Director," I was observed, sternly talked to, and praised for great work.  It's been a rollercoaster of a week (that's every week, but especially this week).  It's at times like these, and weeks like these, where my thoughts and words can together either figuratively strangle me or raise me up to new heights.

I try to reflect on every experience that happens in my life; I want to learn how I can grow from each little nugget of information.  While doing this in my teaching profession is something that comes naturally, it is more difficult to do this within my personal life.

It's news to literally no one at this point that I live alone (I have for the past seven months).  Isolation can do a lot of things to our brains.  It can be a great break from the stressors of our day-to-day life.  I love nothing more than to come home to an apartment exactly the way I left it and plop down on the couch, knowing I have no one to impress for the rest of day (I also usually turn on Netflix and let The Office stream for the Xth time).  However, too much of anything can turn negative.

There are times when I wish I came home to other human beings -- People to interact with, to talk about my day with.  However, in all of my "moping" I forget that I literally have dozens of people I could call, text, or FaceTime at any given moment.  Is digitally connecting to them the same experience as being in the same room?  Not quite.  But, it does make me feel less isolated (and often times puts a smile on my face).

You ever have those moments where you think yourself to death (not literally, of course)?  When you live alone, often times you overthink everything when it comes to interactions with others you don't see on a regular basis.  "How's my hair?" "Does this text sound too forward?" "Should I send a cliché emoji to make sure they know I'm being lighthearted?" "I'm probably annoying this person." "Don't rush it." "This conversation is going nowhere and it's your fault."  Do you see how quickly conversations with yourself can turn from innocent to negative?

The words we speak and the words we think over ourselves will, more times than not, ring true.  Like I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm reading "I Declare War: Four Keys to Winning the Battle with Yourself" by Levi Lusko.  In a recent chapter I read, Levi talks about waking up every morning and speaking, out loud, exactly why the day is going to be great and why one should get up out of bed.  It's all Biblically based, and I love it.  Our words are powerful.  We should use them to speak over the day, our lives, and our slightest worry.  Give it a try this week, and see if your life isn't a little bit brighter or optimistic.



"He who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right."

Love people, be genuine, and speak life over others and YOURSELF.  Don't be held hostage by your own thoughts and words.,

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
— Proverbs 15:4

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Fight On, Fighter" 🔥

As I write this post, I realize that this is the beginning of many new chapters in the journey of my life.  I just hopped off a plane from teaching my very first drum corps camp ever, my second semester of teaching band begins on Tuesday, and I turn a quarter of a century years young on Friday. All of that said, I thought it would be time to open up a new medium to share my thoughts with those who follow me.  By no means to do I feel like I'm the most interesting person in the world, but in the same way that I share vlogs, I feel that I also have words, stories, and longer deeper monologues to type out that could benefit future educators, those in music, or just individuals who need to be encouraged.  The topics contained here are those that I do not feel would best be suited for a vlog style video.  So... here we grow! I've been reading a lot more in 2019 than I have been in any of my adult years.  Currently, I'm reading a book that I think everyone could benefit f
Post a Comment
Read more

Scars ⚡️

Sadness is a daunting subject to write about.  That's for sure.  Sadness is something we feel as we grow up; perhaps we lose our favorite toy growing up, or a pet that is near and dear to us runs away from home.  While we may weep for a season, it usually passes, and we grow, get stronger, and move on with life. But what about the moments that are so hurtful they leave scars?  The kind of life events that shape us forever; we might put up walls, or change our behavior drastically.  That's the kind of event I need to vaguely talk about today. I've eluded to it many times before in writing, but there's one particular event in my life that changed me, molded me, created a wound that took YEARS to heal into an ugly scar.  I want to preface talking about this by stating I am not perfect.  I never was, I never will be.  She wasn't either. I've only been truly, romantically, in love once in my life.  I was a senior in high school, and she was a freshman.  I
Post a Comment
Read more

Simplify 🔤

As adults, we often overcomplicate parts of life.  We stress out over things that matter in the moment, but won't matter three months from now.  Is it awesome to get straight A's on your report card?  Yes, it is!  Is it the end of the world if you get one B?  No, it's not.  I think sometimes as adults we sit and focus on that one B and forget about the seven other A's on the page at the end of a school year. Today, as I panicked with only six days remaining until my very first Concert Assessment/MPA performance as a director, my brain was essentially the SpongeBob Clip you see below. I did NOT forget my name, but the vision of my brain on fire, trying to make everything perfect, came into my head today.  There are days I feel like floundering.  Today, I shared that clip, and the animated gif that goes along with it, with my students.  Most laughed, or liked the image, and/or understood what I was going through; however, one student decided to try to change my
Post a Comment
Read more