Bookshelf Terrarium

Yesterday was my last day at Richland County School District One. I worked in the department of Visual and Performing Arts, which is a district office that provides budgetary and curriculum support for all 150+ arts teachers in Richland One. Richland One is extremely lucky to have a Board that is pro-arts education, and even luckier to have a Coordinator of all the visual and performing arts, that was my boss Nancy Pope. This position is in place to make sure the arts are being supported throughout all areas, from the schools through the superintendent. It's like having a district arts advocate on payroll. So many districts don't have arts coordinators, or their arts coordinator is also a teacher, or it is volunteer.

So many people take arts education for granted. Especially those who had arts education in school, because you had access to it, you might assume everyone has access, but far from it! also the equality of programs varies dramatically. The district tries it's best, and the teachers try their best, but a lot of time it comes down to money. Some schools just don't get the same money as other schools. So many arts teachers are split by school, and if you think about a theatre teacher- who is required to put on at least one play a year and conduct all Gifted and Talented auditions- that teacher has to do all that times 2. No principal will say sure you don't have to do all that required at my school because you are split, nope they want their teachers to fill all the requirements with half the time. I'm not putting all the blame on the principals, but it does come down to them as to allocations of full-time teachers. If your school has a part time art/music/theatre/dance teacher you should tell the teacher you want a full-time teacher. IT is better for the advancement of the school and the students all around.

I am really sad to leave my positions because I love love love working in the arts, the business side of the arts is my JAM, buuuut that job was unbelievable limiting. That was my first time as a professional in a government agency and it was eye-opening to say the least. There are a lot of people doing a lot of great work, but there are also quite a few people that make you wonder what they are even there for, and after 3 years I never figured it out :). I spent the majority of my working career in the non-profit sector, and there is something about the nature and spirit of the non-profit that really works in my head, and my heart. So before I delve into that, here is a picture of the incredibly awesome terrarium my boss made for me as a going away present (she's so crafty)

filtered on my ig: sumstagrams

SO I am having lunch today with one of my new coworkers, which is exciting because we are already friends, and now we get to work together. We will both be working from home, respectively, but it will be good to have a contact here in town as the rest of the organization is located in Houston Texas. I get to fly out to Texas this Monday for 5 days of intensive training. I cannot express to you the pressure of packing for a week of business meetings, especially when I just sent the last 3 years dressing with liberty because I was one of those "weird arts people". I think I need to be official. Also I should probably pack like a somewhat normal person as I am being picked up from the airport and would be extremely embarrassed to roll in with 3 bags for 5 days. I will limit myself to 2 bags both that can be carried on the plane. Where I will put all my shoes I have no idea, but we will find out! 

I'll post more about my new job soon. What an exciting time. 

Until then add me on snapchat: sumsnaps and twitter @sumsweetweet 

Never Forget:

Stay Golden, Lydia!

You know sometimes you want to celebrate one of your friends for just being so special and when you hangout with that person you are just so thankful for that friendship?

Let's chat about my friend Lydia! I mentioned Lydia in my last post as bieng someone who has always motivated me to be active and healthy! I'll give you an example of Lydia's dedication to an active lifestyle...

Two and a half years ago Lydia gave birth to a beautiful baby named Lucy. She had an at home birth complete with a water tub and a doula. Here is a pic of Lydia and Lucy

They're adorable, right? Well just a month after her mother-nature-goddess-natural birth Lydia decided she was ready to start running again. So she signed up for the St. Patrick's 5k. Now I bet there are plenty of women who do that sort of thing, birth babies and run 3 miles the next day, but Lydia just stands out in my mind for her dedication and enthusiasm! I ran that race too, and I struggled having NOT just given birth to a 9lbs girl.

Lydia is also my friend that has run a half marathon, and grows her own vegetables. She goes to the gym anywhere from 4-7 days a week. So in short Lydia works full-time at a job, works as a wife and a mother, and still doesn't make excuses to eat right and exercise regularly.

She is an inspiration to me.

One of the main things that is so lovely about Lydia is that she doesn't ever judge you, or make you feel less than for not working out as much as she does. Lydia met me at my house this morning and we jogged about 2 miles. She never moaned when I needed to walk a block and she didn't groan when I said 2 miles was all I could do. The whole time she said you got this girl, you'll get there!

She is happy to help out a friend, she always has a kind word to say, and she will always help you set a good pace, in running and in life.

So thanks for being such a special friend in my life Lydia! Let's jog again soon!

Letting it go, and then putting it back together!

I have been an active person all my life. I started dance classes when I was 3, I was the only girl in the baseball little league, I switched to softball in 6^th grade and kept that up through high school. I lettered in swimming in high school and managed the cross country team. At boarding school we played all the sports, I was goalie in soccer, quarter back in football, MVP at basketball, and made the doubles tennis team.  

In college I lived in the gym and took college-level dance classes, I lifted weights, watched what I ate and kick-boxed my way to the strongest I’ve ever been. 

(In college, look at that energy)

Post college I kept working out, not as diligently because the routine changes, the daily social pressure changes, migrating from young body-conscious peers to work-oriented colleagues. It matters less what you look like and more what you bring to the table. The stresses of full-time employment is an easy gateway into an expanding waistline.  

When I moved to China I spent a lot of time in a Chinese gym, if you think you know self-consciousness in a gym setting you have no idea until you are naturally the biggest and weirdest looking person in the room and EVERYONE IS STARING AT YOU…the whole time. Eventually the gym became a place that I was able to build up my language skills. Talking to the trainers and other gym goers improved my Mandarin. That eventually waned though, the isolation of culture shock began to set in and I ended up spending a lot of time eating oily foods and binging out on the most delicious noodle meals in this world.

(Climbing a Chinese Mountain with Linz and Nick, and being celebs for our whiteness)

When I came home from China I weigh the most I have ever weighed at that point in my life, I was 28 though so I didn’t really know what real weight gain was (hint now I’m in my 30s.) So I hit the gym, my friends and I joined weight watchers and I started running. This was the first time in my life that I could describe myself as a runner. I woke up almost every day and hit the pavement. Thanks to a very supportive friend (Lydia) I got stronger and ran further than I ever thought was possible. I got down to my thinnest, healthiest and strongest point in late 2011.

(R to L: Me, EG, Lydia, Elizabeth, Greg after I PR'd a 5K)

Fast forward to January 2013, my best friend gets married (YAY). We had been working out and doing a plant-based nutrition program that made me feel amazing but was completely limiting, and I didn’t get the results I wanted. It was started to get harder and harder to get results. I would work out and eat right but the weight stayed right where it was, like a millennial not ready to move out of the house, the fat clung to my thighs. My frustration became a concern so I talked to my doctor, her response was less than encouraging. “Some people’s body just won’t let go.” I am a healthy person, blood pressure is good, blood sugar is great, cholesterol is an A+, and my heart is right on track. So as a somewhat stubborn person I said “BUCKET” (well you know what I actually said), and I just stopped caring. I stopped working out, I stopped caring about watching what I eat and I just let it all go. I have to mention that this period of time in my life was also full of grief and loss which just brings up all the other unresolved issues of grief and loss in my life. So it is safe to say that from February 2013 until now I have been totally slack with diet and exercise. I have ballooned to my largest self ever, I also blame my 30s, but I am ready to make some major changes.

In the past month I have let go of a relationship that was really weighing down on my soul, it is actually a little easier to breath without the stress of this “friendship” in my life. I have also accepted a new job with an organization that I love, it is a move back to my non-profit roots with an emphasis on helping the community in a way that I have been hoping to do. I also am taking a graduate certificate course at Winthrop University, as you can see things are changing. I am making changes and I am ready to transition back to the things in my life that make me truly happy. I am going to focus on my fitness and my foods, I am ready start a new brilliant chapter in my life, and I am starting it now. So thanks for reading and hope you’ll follow me along the next part of my crazy life.

(Me now, not terrible but notice the draping material, hides the chubs)

Lastly, I recently realized that I have one big problem in my life. I am single (that isn’t the problem) and I haven’t really had what one might call a “stable, healthy relationship”, and I want that…like a lot. But I was standing in my house looking at all my stuff, I love my stuff, when I realized that I have NO ROOM IN MY LIFE for someone else. I have a lot of holes in my emotional life (re: the aforementioned grief and loss) and instead of working to fill those holes I have covered them with really pretty rugs and vibrant art. I covered them with jobs and boards and events and meetings and plans…the list goes on and on. Now, I attack most problems with logical strategies, but we are talking about emotions, so logic be damned. What I am hoping will happen in this next “brilliant chapter of my life” will help me uncover the holes, one by one, and begin to care for them. I need to recognize them because they are my pockets of vulnerability that I hide from the world. They are my soft spots that are easily bruised, so I have covered them and forgotten about them. However, thanks to Brene Brown I understand the truth about vulnerability.

Don’t know Brené Brown? Check out her TED Talk here!

 

That’s all for now, thanks for reading and see you soon.