As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives." -Henry David Thoreau

I went a bit long on yesterday's post, so I might keep this one a tad shorter. Sadly I'm not in the best of moods today. I had a big surprise that I was kind of exciting about and it turned into a bit of a disappointment. It's hard to not bring others down when you're upset. I know in my head that I have a special power make people smile and I can bring a lot of good and joy into the world, but when I'm sad or upset, I know the same thing can occur but on a negative field.
One of the the drawbacks of working in student affairs for a long time is the amount of burnout in the field. We see so much burn out and I firmly believe it is because we are in a bit of a fishbowl where we understand students are watching us 24/7 no matter where we are and we rarely get a chance to let our minds go and not be worried you will be getting in trouble because a student saw you acting out of character somewhere off campus. It's kind of hard to explain, I'm not even really talking about drinking or dating or anything like that, just being able to show an emotion other than happiness and excitement and still being able to act as a role model for students. I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be an orientation counselor, I have so much respect for those students and adults because they seem to ALWAYS be happy!
I don't really have a moral of the story tonight, more or less the fact that I'm not in my right state of mind and I'm trying to figure out an easy way to show it without setting off too many red flags. I have a lot to learn and I'm glad I'm where I am, just need to focus my energy in the right direction. Sometimes that energy just happens to find itself in your father's arms :) Goodnight all!
Question Time: How do you brighten your day when things don't go as planned? In the past, I've always found a long walk can open my mind and relax my nerves. If it is done with the right person as well, that can make all the difference!
About the Video: I actually found this video a few years ago and then re-found it last summer. It's a bit of a longer video, but I always enjoyed the moral of the story. Sometimes it is hard to remember other people are going through the same thing as you are. So for those of you who find themselves on a tough day, just know I'm here for you and I hope it gets better. Just make sure to make the right choices and don't fall back on your default settings in life.