First day of the second week...need I say more?

Hi there!

I decided to start blogging--mostly because I want to share my experiences and hear about the experiences of my co-workers, and a little bit because I need hours :-) I decided to call this blog "Venturing into the 'Real World'" because, as some of you may know, this is my first "real" job after graduating from college in mid-August. This is a scary, exciting, and strange time in my life right now, especially because I just realized that this is the first time in 18 years that I'm not going back to school. But, I'm definitely anxious and ready to dive head-first into the first job of my adult life, and I'm so fortunate for my first job to be a site coordinator with Sports4Kids!

I hope everyone's extra-long, holiday weekend was awesome. Mine was pretty sweet--I just hung out with some friends and chilled out after that first week of school. I think I caught something from one (or more) of the kids at school, because I was feeling a little sick all weekend. Sleeping for lots of hours and being around great family & friends helped me to feel a little better, though.

So, back to school today. We started class game time today, but I don't really have much control over when that happens because my school put me in the resource block, along with Art, Music, and Library. One good thing about that happening is that my schedule is already made and I know CGT won't interfere with anything else. One bad thing about that, though, is that my schedule is already made for me (haha). I don't have any control over how many classes I see a day, I don't have any control over how long I see the classes, and I don't have control over what time I see them. To show you what I mean, here's my schedule:

CGT 9:30-10:15
Recess 1 10:20-10:35
Recess 2 10:50-11:05
Recess 3 11:15-11:30
Recess 4 11:45-12:00
Recess 5 12:45-1:00
My lunch 1:05-1:50
CGT 1:55-2:40
CGT 2:45-3:30

I guess that's not really that bad, if I think about it. I have a break between Recesses 4 & 5 for about 45 minutes, and then I have my lunch before the two last CGT's of the day. I think I'm just overwhelmed right now because I always have something to do or get ready for, and I only have around 5 minutes to transition between things. I know things will get easier as I get further into the year, and as I eventually catch the elusive "flow" that I keep hearing from the returners will come later in the year.

So I guess the theme of the day would be "overwhelmed." Add a little bit of "not-so-confident" in there, too. I know things will get better; that's what I keep telling myself. Things will come easier and I won't always be so self-conscious and unsure about running CGT and recesses. The kids are starting to warm up to me, so that's awesome. I'm also getting to know the teachers and the administration, which is great as well.

On another note, I started a running program today to work toward my goal of running a 5K someday. Why am I mentioning that on this blog, which is supposed to be dedicated to my Sports4Kids experiences? I'll tell you why:

Today I came home from work really overwhelmed, stressed, unsure, and basically thinking of what I do as "work" (and it shouldn't be....it should be FUN!) It's something I don't know yet, something I'm not absolutely good at and comfortable with, something still out of my comfort zone because I haven't been in the job long enough. So I forced myself to go for a run, and while I was running through my neighborhood, I realized that I CAN do this job. I can work at it, and work HARD, because it's worth it. The why is worth it. I am doing this because I love kids, and I love sports, and I feel a calling to be in the city and out of the suburbs. At the same time, I realized that I've been trying to start running consistently for years. I always played sports, and they came naturally, so they were easy for me. Running was always hard, though, and when I tried to start running long-distance, I would stick with it for a few weeks, and then get discouraged and stop. Then, a few months later, I would try again. And stop, again.

So today, I decided that just as I am absolutely committed to, excited about, and capable of getting into my role as a site coordinator and rocking it, I am equally capable of doing the same thing with running. When I come home and I'm tired, and stressed, and overwhelmed and feeling like I can't do this, I will go out and run and get better, knowing that I will eventually be able to run a 5K. And while I'm running, and pushing myself, I will be thinking about how capable I am of pushing myself and giving everything I have in my role at my school.

Does that make sense to anyone? That's what's on my mind right now.

Tomorrow is a brand new day. We have training at 3 at the office, and I'm looking forward to seeing all my awesome co-workers and directors and exchanging ideas and just having fun. I really hope we can play Instant ID again--that was hilarious!!!

Hope to hear from some of you! Talk to you soon :-)