Gotta Have Grit!
It's Thursday, good morning!
We are almost to break and what a wild ride it has been from when we arrived back at school after February vacation to now. Who would have thought that our entire system of education as we all know it would get turned on its head! This has been hard for us all - students, teachers, and staff alike. We've had to transform ourselves, get really creative, and lean on our ability to be resilient and gritty.
As a counselor, and a human being, I naturally tend to experience (or maybe tune into) people when they are in the midst of some sort of personal or intrapersonal struggle. At the outset, people tend to take their struggles pretty personally. It's easy to have that why me attitude. To wonder why the world is conspiring against you to make your life difficult? It's easy to blame, and complain, and make excuses. But I'll tell you that over the 25ish years I have been doing this work, the people that have come out stronger on the other end, hands down, are those that can put the blame and the excuses aside, look outside of themselves, and recognize that the world is just inherently hard. With that recognition, comes the ability to accept, take ownership, problem solve, try a different path, march forward and be gritty!
Grit is defined as having firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck. As in: She has a reputation for grit and common sense.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching design shows like Project Runway and Making the Cut. I love the process of creation from its inception. I love watching someone come up with an idea, wrestle with that idea as it starts to come to fruition, and I love seeing the final result after lots of twists, turns, roadblocks and hurdles. (As I am writing about it, I'm realizing that designing a garment is like a metaphor for designing a life - guess that's why I like the shows!) Anyway, I mention this because generally when the show's designers stand in front of the judges, the panel always says to the contestant that they have to have grit because the fashion world is a demanding and difficult environment where you are going to fail lots of times before you succeed. And while I think this is true, I also don't think that the fashion industry corners the market on difficult or demanding.
As I mentioned above, life is difficult...life is demanding...life can be disappointing. Any path you choose will be riddled with stumbling blocks, but it will also be ripe for opportunities for those who choose to work for them. Everyone has personal obstacles, but everyone also has personal responsibility and can choose what they will do when those obstacles are presented.
This is not to say that one has to achieve success all on their own, many people will help you along the way, and we teachers are happy and excited to be your support system, your cheerleaders, and some times your bulldozers helping to manage the bumps.
So keep up the good work! Keep tapping into your personal grittiness, and finding ways to be successful during this time. This current situation is a big obstacle but you are all showing that you can scale it and emerge victoriously!
Be Well everyone!
Mrs. Hempey
We are almost to break and what a wild ride it has been from when we arrived back at school after February vacation to now. Who would have thought that our entire system of education as we all know it would get turned on its head! This has been hard for us all - students, teachers, and staff alike. We've had to transform ourselves, get really creative, and lean on our ability to be resilient and gritty.
As a counselor, and a human being, I naturally tend to experience (or maybe tune into) people when they are in the midst of some sort of personal or intrapersonal struggle. At the outset, people tend to take their struggles pretty personally. It's easy to have that why me attitude. To wonder why the world is conspiring against you to make your life difficult? It's easy to blame, and complain, and make excuses. But I'll tell you that over the 25ish years I have been doing this work, the people that have come out stronger on the other end, hands down, are those that can put the blame and the excuses aside, look outside of themselves, and recognize that the world is just inherently hard. With that recognition, comes the ability to accept, take ownership, problem solve, try a different path, march forward and be gritty!
Grit is defined as having firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck. As in: She has a reputation for grit and common sense.
One of my guilty pleasures is watching design shows like Project Runway and Making the Cut. I love the process of creation from its inception. I love watching someone come up with an idea, wrestle with that idea as it starts to come to fruition, and I love seeing the final result after lots of twists, turns, roadblocks and hurdles. (As I am writing about it, I'm realizing that designing a garment is like a metaphor for designing a life - guess that's why I like the shows!) Anyway, I mention this because generally when the show's designers stand in front of the judges, the panel always says to the contestant that they have to have grit because the fashion world is a demanding and difficult environment where you are going to fail lots of times before you succeed. And while I think this is true, I also don't think that the fashion industry corners the market on difficult or demanding.
As I mentioned above, life is difficult...life is demanding...life can be disappointing. Any path you choose will be riddled with stumbling blocks, but it will also be ripe for opportunities for those who choose to work for them. Everyone has personal obstacles, but everyone also has personal responsibility and can choose what they will do when those obstacles are presented.
This is not to say that one has to achieve success all on their own, many people will help you along the way, and we teachers are happy and excited to be your support system, your cheerleaders, and some times your bulldozers helping to manage the bumps.
So keep up the good work! Keep tapping into your personal grittiness, and finding ways to be successful during this time. This current situation is a big obstacle but you are all showing that you can scale it and emerge victoriously!
Be Well everyone!
Mrs. Hempey
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