Day 15: SuperCamp

Do you remember your first exposure to SuperCamp? Most of the time it’s a powerful experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Rachel Winzeler, a Facilitator at SuperCamp Hong Kong this year, wrote about the first time she witnessed what it meant to be a part of SuperCamp:

Day 15: Supercamp

I was referred to be a facilitator. One day before the deadline, I received an invitation for tryouts. I e-mailed back a polite “thank you, but no thanks.”

As soon as the e-mail was sent, I thought again. And told them to forget the previous e-mail. Tryouts were in Chicago, during the worst blizzard all year. Sliding off the road twice, I pulled the car out of the snow bank with one hand on the gas pedal, and two frozen feet hanging out the door.

The interview, from 8am-5pm, was intense. My 3 minute bio flopped. It was like a day at camp, and I was in another world. These were professional people: 35 twentysomethings from all over the US came. These were good, successful people…the kind of people I wanted to work with. I came to the interview just to give it a shot. I left, really wanting to be hired. Only ten were chosen.

…

Supercamp made me step up. Work hard, play hard. The first night of training they had us stand and tell why we came. I said because there are kids that only I will reach—and I want to make it count. I want to be the most effective possible, with whatever tools I have. I was also there for me—because when I am the best for me, I am the best for you.

I nailed it. There were moments where everything clicked and I walked away from a piece knowing I had done an amazing job—couldn’t have done better. I ran with the big dogs.Supercamp has harnessed efficient ways to use and connect learning strategies in ways that are engaging and memorable. Feedback was constantly given:  we would present short pieces, and then immediately be coached and given chances to step it up to the next level.

One intense piece is called barrier breaking: the kids write a goal on a thick wood board, and then what is a barrier to obtaining that goal on the other side. They put the board on two cement blocks and break it with their hand—through the barrier to the goal. It is a deeply emotional and empowering time as the whole team gathers around, jumping and shouting “yes, yes, yes!”

Supercamp opens your eyes to see how things CAN be. You are challenged, given the tools, and then pushed out. You are supported and not forced, but looked in the eyes and told what you both know:  “You will regret it if you don’t go for it.” Supercamp celebrates your efforts and successes, but more than that, it celebrates the real you, and who you are.

From this place, I can face my questions openly: “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Can I do this?” They surround me with the most powerful word in the English language, “Yes.” With the vision of what I want fresh in my face, I make a list of progress yet to be made. I go to bed tired, muscles sore–but tomorrow I will wake up to greatness, standing inside and outside of my door.

Another amazing testimonial from a new SuperCamper! We love hearing these types of stories and encourage you to contact us if you want to share about your experiences. Send an email to stories@supercamp.com detailing your SuperCamp experience and you just may see it show up on the blog!

6 Ways To Battle A Bully

Adam Sandler in the movie "Billy Madison"

This guest post was written by Mr. Doug Couch, sports enthusiast and experienced SuperCamp staff member.

“O’Doyle rules!”

While glorified as entertaining on the silver screen in movies such as Billy Madison, bullying is an act that is all too serious and real in today’s schools. This seemingly inescapable byproduct of adolescence is an issue that three quarters of all students say they have experienced first-hand. Verbally, physically, and psychologically, bullying can take on many forms – name calling, threats, teasing, rejection, and even physical violence.

The lasting effects of bullying can be as widespread as the acts themselves. It can make students afraid of school and social interaction, which can have lasting effects on their psyche through adulthood. For many students, it is difficult to focus on the assignments at hand when they are worried about the bully that stands between them and their locker. As technology has progressed, so has the art of bullying and it’s effects. As a result, bullying can make school a fearful place that can lead to greater stress and school violence, not just for the bullied, but for everyone.

In the post What Parents Can Do About Teen Bullying,  there are some great parent tips on how to help kids deal with adolescent bullying such as listening more and talking less, establishing family values, and building authentic bridges between parent and child so a solid support system is created. But what can kids do to stand up to bullies in the moment?

Over the last decade, I have worked with students across the country, seen a broad spectrum of personalities and witnessed many different types of student interactions. Here are six ways I have found to be the best in dealing with bully situations:

1. The most convenient action is avoidance.

If you know when and where the bully is going to be, take a different route. If you are out of sight, then you are likely out of mind which will help in avoiding any conflict.

2. Stand tall and be brave.

Many times bullies prey on those who they think they have power over. They pick on kids who become upset easily or who won’t stick up for themselves because they are an easy target. Eliciting strong reaction from another can make a bully feel empowered. Sometimes, simply standing your ground and not giving in is enough to make a bully back down. How does a brave person look and act, you ask? Standing tall with your shoulders back will send the message, “Don’t mess with me!” It’s much easier to feel brave and strong when you feel good about yourself.

3. CONFIDENCE!

Know who you are, what you want, and what it takes to get you there! What is it like when you look and feel your best? Tap into that emotion and know that no one can take it away from you. Commit to yourself to be the best person you can be. Do you want to be more physically fit? Commit to yourself to turn off the computer and be more physically active for an hour each day and make healthier food choices. The perception we have of ourselves is the reality we send to the world. Be confident in yourself and others will acknowledge you for it.

4. Have a friend and be a friend.

Friends are some of the best tools in standing up to a bully. Make a plan to be with a friend or two when you’re walking home, eating lunch, or just hanging out on the swings. Offer to be there if you know a friend is being bullied. Most importantly, get involved! If you witness bullying in your school, speak up! Tell a teacher, take a stand with the kid being bullied, and show them both what strong confidence and bravery looks like!

5. Never bully back!

Stand up for yourself and remember to never bully back. Fighting back only gives the bully the power of eliciting the emotional response they wanted in the first place. It’s never worth getting yourself in trouble because someone else is being a jerk. It is important to keep your feelings under control. Use your wit. Keep your mind focused elsewhere until the situation is over and you are in a safe environment to let your feelings show.

6. Most importantly, speak out.

Talk to your teachers, principals, parents, even the lunch lady (who always seems to smell like sloppy joes, even on chicken nugget day!) when you encounter bullying to yourself or someone else. Find someone you trust and tell them everything you can. Many times, bullies stop as soon as a teacher finds out because they’re afraid of being punished by the school or their parents. After all, by speaking out you could be saving your own life or the life of a friend. Everyone has the right to feel safe.

Do you have other good ways to handle bully situations? Please share them in the comments below.

The Value of Time

 

 

THIS IS IT!

 

Team Time Across the World

Back in the 1980s, there used to be a super cheesy saying that was passed around a lot, mostly by middle-school science teachers.  It goes basically like this:

The earth is traveling through the Universe and around the sun at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour.  If you think about it, we’re all astronauts aboard Spaceship Earth!

Sweet! I’ve always wanted to be on a spaceship!

As corny as it sounds, I kind of like the idea.  Maybe the modern-day version is High School Musical’s “We’re All in this Together.”  It’s true.  What one country puts into the atmosphere drastically affects the rest of us.  An earthquake hits Haiti and generosity from America to Europe to Australia pours forth.  One person starting a “Free Hugs” campaign among their friends can echo across the globe.

The coolest thing about all 6 ½ billion of us chillin’ on Spaceship Earth together is that we are similar, yet so wildly different.  It all comes down to culture.  The way people celebrate the New Year differs drastically from country to country, city to city, even household to household.  The common theme is that we are all celebrating, right? (I’m not sure if there are any cultures that cry all day for New Years but if you find one let me know).  Culture is what unites and divides us.  It’s what gives us context for the ways in which we live our lives.

Oftentimes, we refer to the SuperCamp culture.  This culture includes how we speak, the type of music we play, our styles of learning, and especially our traditions (traditions!).  If you’ve only ever been to one SuperCamp session, it may be hard to imagine that camp could look any differently than the one you experienced.  If you have been to more than one session, you know that camps can look incredibly different from one session to another.  This past summer, I had the awesome opportunity to facilitate at four different sessions – in four different locations: Singapore, Wake Forest, Loyola Marymount, and San Marcos.  It was also my eighth summer working at SuperCamp.

Keeping that in mind, one of my favorite aspects of camp is Team Time.  I love the music, the energy, the dancing, the cheers, the screaming and madness that we Facilitators get to enjoy when we say those three magic words:

“Who Wants It?!”

Team Time is one of those things in camp that, in theory, seems like it should be the same from campus to campus, but in reality can be the most different.  Some camps like to applaud real hard after a cheer, while some prefer to go right to the team representative.  Some dance circles break it down to Vanilla Ice, while others like to “bust a move.”  We all know that power acknowledgements can be all over the place.

I think the best part about Team Time though, is how it defines so much of what we do at SuperCamp.  It’s about supporting each other and celebrating the common experience, while also completely loving all of the things that make us so different.  It doesn’t matter if the team on stage has to start their cheer over three times before they get it, we still cheer for them for so awesomely using Failure Leads to Success.

From my perspective this past summer, Team Time helped define how different each camp was from the next.  The way the kids in Singapore got funky on their dance circle was pretty different from Wake Forest, where half the time it was hard to figure out where the circle actually was because so many people were dancing at once.  The Junior Forum homies at Loyola Marymount loved to “mix it up” at the end of the daily dance-off, while San Marcos couldn’t get enough of the “hand-clap dance” (what what!).

Brown, Stanford, Seattle, Chi-town, and Colorado – everyone had their own amazing Team Time traditions.  It’s what made each camp its own.

Then again, we all have so much in common.  Being up on stage, repping your team – that’s something that every single person who went to camp this summer got to do.  Everyone had a chance to hop in a dance circle, to introduce a crazy new power whoosh, or to yell your team letter until the Facilitator chose you.  These are experiences we all shared whether camp was in Toyon Hall (Stanford) or Hagget Hall (Seattle).  It’s the kind of thing that makes someone stop you in the airport because you’re wearing an “I Feel Good” shirt (actually happened to me).  We may have gone to different camps and shared different experiences, but we have all been impacted by SuperCamp and Quantum Learning.

Knowing that SuperCamp 2011 is still a ways away, what can you do at home to create shared experiences among your friends?  They may have not gone to camp, but it’s very possible that they’d be interested in learning how to “mix it up.”  Or maybe you can create your own new traditions with your friends – most of you probably already have (hint: they’re called inside jokes).  These are the kinds of things that bring us closer to one another.  Shared experiences equal closer friendships.  Closer friendships equal fulfillment.  Fulfillment equals motivation.  And motivation equals getting what you want out of life.

Take a look at this video.  What do you notice about these Team Times?  What similarities and differences do you notice?  Comment below about what you see.

Your task, if you choose to accept it: Post on the SuperCamp Facebook page about one of your favorite traditions at camp.  It could be pretty cool to see how many “strangers” respond with stories similar to yours.  As crazy as life outside of SuperCamp seems sometimes, it’s good to remember that we’re all in this together.

Small Sacrifices for Big Benefits: The Art of Long-Term Thinking

This guest post was written by the lovely and talented Kelly Pozzoli, SuperCamp lead facilitator and snowboarding enthusiast.

“Is this in line with what I believe?”

“Are my priorities straight?”

“Is it worth it?”

For some reason, obvious and logical questions like these tend to escape our radar from time to time. We do things that might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but ended up proverbially kicking ourselves in the faces.

We give in to temptation because it feels right in the moment. We get caught up in short-sighted thinking. We momentarily forget to consider the consequences, or we find a way to rationalize them.  We give in to our impulses, focusing on the now instead of panning out to look at the big picture.  We make seemingly valid excuses for our actions so that we can have what we want in the meantime.

Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain

The concept is simple. Think about any test you’ve ever had looming on the horizon.  You know you need to do well on this test, and in order for that to happen, you need to study.  You make a study plan and schedule in breaks.  It starts off innocently enough until you find yourself spending most of your nights checking in on the latest and greatest of Jersey Shore, not to mention the entire series of Breaking Bad (after all, it just won all those Emmy’s and you have a lot of catching up to do).  Suddenly it’s a few days before the test, and you haven’t so much as cracked a book.  Call off Snooki, now you have a real Situation on your hands.  The test is here, and you’re unprepared.  Cueing up Breaking Bad on Netflix was intended to be for your down time from studying and somehow turned into the main event.  It seemed all right at the time, but now you’re going to bomb the test.  You chose to indulge in TV instead of studying (short term gain), and as a result, you failed the test (long term pain).

Short Term Pain, Long Term Gain

Now think about saving money to buy a car.  You set up a savings plan and budget your cash accordingly…on paper (that’s the easy part).  However, you tend to be an impulse shopper- buying that oh-so-cute-and-trending-now sweater in the window that you just have to have, or being seduced by the samples at the grocery store and scooping up several boxes of whatever’s being dished out.  But, not this time.  You see that sweater, maybe even go so far as to try it on, but upon inspecting the price tag, decide that a car is much more important to you than having new gear.  And instead of purchasing several boxes of what you’ve sampled, you make note of what the product was and try to work it into next week’s carefully constructed grocery list.  You’re on a budget, which is kind of horrible, but you want that car, so the tears shed during your sweater heartache (short term pain) are quickly forgotten the day you hand over that sweet, sweet down payment on your first new car (long term gain).

Imagine looking in the mirror and knowing you are better than the vices that gobble up so many others in society–that you are stronger, smarter, and more in line with your values. That image looks even better from the rear-view mirror of that beastly car you worked hard to buy. That image looks better seeing those old temptations shrink behind you as you drive your life forward. That image is integrity.

What are some things that you could give up/forgo now in order to receive even bigger benefits in the future? Please share in the comments below!

School Can Be a Bit Grizzly – SuperCamp Can Help

Imagine you are taking a leisurely stroll through the forest (depending on where you live, this may be a daily occurrence for you). All of a sudden, you look up and there is a ginormous brown grizzly bear staring you straight in the face! What do you do?

Your first reaction may be to listen to the little voice in your head screaming, “ARE YOU CRAZY?? RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!” But this response is not your best chance of getting out of that forest without doing a little dance with your new grizzly friend. The more rational reaction: stay calm, stand your ground, and thoroughly assess the situation before making your next move.

Think for a moment about something else that may be quickly approaching and also quite daunting. Yes, the beginning of another school year – new classes, new teachers, new drama. The instinctual response might be to fall back into your old habits. But now you’ve been to SuperCamp…and we’ve been fighting bears since 1982.

In order to make your camp-to-school transition smooth and ongoing, we at SuperCamp have created a number of strategies to assist you in holding onto those powerful strategies, mindsets, and goals you learned this summer:

• Our grad support hub is QuantumLearner.com, which will be constantly updated throughout the year. This is where you and your parents can access pictures from your SuperCamp experience. One way to keep those memories fresh in your brain is to print off pictures of you and your friends at camp and post them near your ‘Homework Spot’ at home. This will help keep you pumped about using SuperCamp skills throughout the year. QuantumLearner.com is your first stop for Grad Support.

• If you find that you can’t remember a certain strategy or have questions regarding how to handle a situation in a SuperCamp-like manner, call our Grad Support Hotline at 1-800-285-3276, extension 170. Leave a message (anything regarding SuperCamp skills and tools) and one of our trained SuperCamp Facilitators will call back with a refresher, pep talk, or whatever you need. You might even get to speak with a Facilitator who was at your camp! All of our Facilitators are dynamic, fun, and love to help.

• Perhaps the most important and useful thing you can do – look over your SuperCamp playbook. You took that puppy home for a reason – utilize it!

• Facebook! As you’re reading this, it’s very possible that you are also currently logged onto Facebook or have been at some point during the last 2 hours. With that knowledge, we have created a number of groups and support networks and even an official SuperCamp Facebook page as a way of bringing our world to yours. Keep in touch with your SuperCamp friends and staff members and look at pictures from camp to keep the good memories flowing. While Facebook is a great way to stay connected, if you have questions for staff about SuperCamp curriculum, your best bet is to call the Grad Support Hotline (800-285-3276 ×170).

• Visit our student and parent support page for a quick review of some of the most common SuperCamp support topics.

• Refresher videos will be available monthly on YouTube and QuantumLearner.com based on topics that are appropriate for the time of year, (i.e. test-taking skills in December for midterms). No boring lectures – all the awesomeness of SuperCamp in a quick, informative fashion.

• If you’re interested in coming back to SuperCamp in 2011 (and you were a student in Senior Forum), we encourage you to come back on Leadership Training Team to further develop your skills while getting the chance to have a new, different camp experience. For more information, check out our teen summer camps page and scroll down to Leadership Training Team or call 1-800-285-3276.

We are so honored to have had you at SuperCamp this summer and are committed to making sure you get all the support you need to stand up to that bear we call school and make this year a success!

Get Paid to Rave About SuperCamp!

We know that you go home after camp and gush about what you learned, who you met, and how much fun you had. Why not win something for it by entering our contest?

The Prizes

A $100 Visa gift card will go to the person who best writes about the specific ways in which SuperCamp has impacted his or her life. $50 gift cards will be given to two runners up. Considering that most of us talk about camp anyway, this is a really cool opportunity!

How to Win

There are a couple of different ways you can submit your entry:

• Type it up and send it to cpollock@qln.com

• Write a post on your own blog and link back to this page (and/or link to your post in a comment below)

• Simply add a comment to this page

What You Need to Know

1. You must have attended at least one SuperCamp or Quantum U session.
2. The judges (the SuperCamp Marketing Department) will select the best written entry. Our decisions will be subjective and final.
3. The submission deadline is September 30, 2010. Winners will be announced in the following weeks.
4. Get creative with it! Extra points may or may not go to entries with pictures attached…
5. Remember to be specific. Try to choose one memory in particular that stands out above all the rest and explain how and why it impacted you the way that it did.

Good luck to all and we look forward to reading your submissions!

Stepping out… and Coming Back

This guest post was written by the lovely and talented Kelly Pozzoli, SuperCamp lead facilitator and first grade teacher.

Step out of your comfort zone.  Is that out of your comfort zone? Stretch your comfort zone.

We hear these things from time to time, and I think we all have a general understanding of what a comfort zone is.  It’s a safe place.  It’s like Linus with his blanket.  When we are in the comfort zone, we know everything is going to be ok.  It’s comfortable and easy.  Then there’s that place outside our comfort zone, which has been coined the learning zone.  This, of course, is the place where we are not so comfortable.  It’s a place that challenges us and exposes us to new experiences.  Being there almost demands that we change somehow.  It is when we are in the learning zone that we do the most growing.

I’ve been through trainings and workshops and have read books about personal growth.  I’ve seen videos about inner strength and have done team building and journaling and goal setting more times than I can count.  I’ve done some inner exploration on the kind of person I want to be today, tomorrow, or 10 years from now.  One thing I’ve learned is that it’s easy to make a list.  It’s easy to write down my goals and aspirations.  It’s even relatively easy to talk about these things with other people.  But the difficult part is deciding to walk the walk and then standing there on the line between my comfort zone and my learning zone and taking that first step out.  I’ll be honest.  I can cite more than one occasion where I was paralyzed with fear.  I had set my mind to the task, then mustered up the courage, rallied the troops, all of it, and when I got to the proverbial starting line, I froze.  I was afraid… of change, of failing, of the unknown, that I wouldn’t make friends, afraid of being far away from my family, afraid of being great.

One of my greatest learning zone experiences happened just after I graduated from college.  I found myself wandering around my own life aimlessly.  I had a degree that did little more than get me off the campus.  While it looked fabulous hanging there on the wall in its expensive frame, it was essentially a $40,000 piece of paper saying “Yep, she was officially here.”  I knew that I didn’t want to work with the media, which is what my degree was in, so I spent the next few years doing what I was comfortable with- coaching gymnastics and cheerleading.  I was really pushing myself (note the sarcasm).  The important people in my life always told me how talented I was at various things and how full of potential I was, and yet I went to the very first thing that I knew I could do well.  Did I love it?  No.  I liked it, sure.  But every day I went into that gym and felt that I was working below my ability level.  Every day I felt like there was more in the plan for me, but I was comfortable, so what did it matter?  Then through SuperCamp of all places (I swear they’re not paying me to say this), I discovered my passion.  I wanted to work in some facet of education.  Enter the problem: the specific master’s program that I wanted to do happened to be in Boston, 1200 miles away from everyone and everything that I cared about.  While I loved to travel, the thought of actually living far away from my family for any extended period of time scared the bejeezus out of me.  But I never questioned my choice, not even for a second.  I decided that my passion, what I felt to be my calling, was more important than my fear.  So I packed up and moved across the country for grad school.  It wasn’t easy moving to a city where I didn’t know anyone, and in the beginning, outside of my classes, I didn’t have a whole lot of fun.

Eventually though, I made friends and grew more comfortable in Boston.  I found things there that I enjoyed doing.  It’s a wonderful city with a lot to offer, but it never truly felt like home to me.  When I graduated with my master’s degree, I moved back to the Midwest.  Moving to the Northeast was way in my learning zone, and I feel that I had a tremendous amount of personal growth while I was there, but I knew that it was time to go home.  Some of my greatest learnings about myself, my wants, needs and desires came out of living there.  In fact, as I’m typing this, I’m filled with an emotion that I don’t know how to describe with words… grateful maybe, but to whom, I’m not sure.

What I do know is that I wanted something, and though I was afraid of most of the obstacles between me and that goal, I was able to prioritize.  That’s the great thing about knowing fear- we can stare it down, acknowledge that it’s there, and then move on.  We don’t need to let it control our decisions.

We all have a comfort zone and a learning zone, and between the two we all have fear.  So, set the goal, acknowledge the fear, dance into the learning zone, and come back.  And then do it all over again.

When have you stepped out of your comfort zone and into the learning zone? Share in the comments below.

Celebrate! Dance to the Music!

Photo by Matt Madden

This guest post was written by Mr. Doug Couch, sports broadcaster and experienced SuperCamp staff member.

“Stop worrying about the potholes in the road, and celebrate the journey!”

Every day brings new challenges and new bends in the road of life. Rarely, however, do we remember to take the time to acknowledge ourselves for accomplishing these tasks and navigating these twists and turns. Every day deserves a celebration, even if celebrating looks like cranking the stereo up with the earbuds in. Go on! Be the iPod ad!

Every effort brings learning, and every learning deserves a celebration. Celebrating our successes, and even our failures that will one day lead to success, keep our energy up, our drive in gear, and most importantly, our smiles happy.

In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, it is easy to lose focus of the big picture. We study for one test, complete it, and move on to whatever is next without acknowledging the effort and work we did. Sometimes we even feel guilty for acknowledging ourselves, as if doing so may be pompous or selfish.

The purpose of celebrating is so important that even the Disney Company has taken the action to heart by creating it’s very own city next door to Disney World named, what else? Celebration, Florida! Naturally, Celebration’s main street is affectionately named Celebration Boulevard.

When we take the time to celebrate, we are acknowledging ourselves for the learning, loving, growing, and exploring we do each and every day. A typical image for most people at the thought of “celebration” includes cake, balloons, and friends, but celebrating can also look like a bubble bath and a book, or a trip to the movies with extra-buttery popcorn.

Celebrating helps us put into perspective the things that are most important to us in our daily lives. It’s an excuse to surround ourselves with the people we love, and return home to environments that make us feel safe, where we can be ourselves and have fun doing it. By acknowledging the power of a positive attitude through celebration, we maintain close bonds with loved ones and maintain our own zen through activities we love to do.

As you celebrate your accomplishments, give yourself permission to relax and remove yourself from the stresses of the day. Let your hair down, relax your shoulders, and take a deep breath to release built-up tension and stress.

Tonight, as you settle in to your favorite pair of comfy sweats and turn on your favorite primetime show, think for a moment about your day, and all the potholes and turns you navigated through on your journey. Some of the most fulfilling celebrations are the ones we have for no special reason other than having done our best.

Doing our best is the most we can ever do. Tonight, celebrate all your efforts, all your successes, and get excited! Tomorrow is worth celebrating too!

How do you celebrate your accomplishments? Please share in the comments below.

A Different Kind of Bucket List: Getting Back to a Balanced State of Being

This guest post was written by the lovely and talented Kelly Pozzoli, SuperCamp lead facilitator and first grade teacher.

Remember that time you woke up late and it threw off the rest of the day? Or the day you failed a really important test, or your best friend moved away, or you realized that the bank really wasn’t kidding about the lack of funds in your account?  To put it plainly, those kinds of days are horrible.  Trust me, that failed math test or the moment my one true love decided otherwise are anything but smiley faces in the memory book of my life. But those days happen.  We all get angry, frustrated, fed up, sad, hurt, or confused about our lives.  We do.  It’s natural.  But most of us don’t live in a perpetual state of confusion or anger.  We seek out people or activities that shake us back into a balanced place and leave us feeling calm and level headed.  Someone once explained it to me as “filling my buckets”. Yes buckets, plural (we are, after all, multifaceted beings).

Today is a perfect example of my buckets being a little low.  Work was anything but pleasurable.  I teach first grade, and as you can imagine, managing a room of 33 six year olds can do quite the number on my patience and sense of wellbeing.  Ultimately, I love my job, but not today. Today, one kid threw up, another wet her pants, two boys were wrestling and one got a bloody lip, the art teacher was late so my planning period was short, I had two parent meetings, and my assistant was out sick.  When that last bell rang, I all but left a cloud of dust as I sprinted from the school.  However, I refuse to wallow in that yucky place of self-doubt, frustration, and anger.  I have a tried and true plan of action to scale that wall back into my happy place.  It’s simple.  I must refill my buckets.  I must pursue fulfillment at all times.  I’ve found it’s important that I pay attention to what my gut is telling me I need in any given situation and then go out and get it.

By the way, my gut tells me I need all kinds of things.  So for the sake of the incredible shrinking attention span, I’ll mention my top three bucket fillers, and leave you to it.

Positive People

Sometimes what I need to bring me out of my funk are the people in my life that build me up and help me be the best version of myself. These are the people I seek out when I need a shoulder, an ear, or a smile, or when I need to be around someone who just gets it without me having to explain.  For me, it’s my best friends. They’re my smile makers, my heart warmers, my judge-free zone, the ones that fill my buckets.  Somehow, after a venting sesh with my number one fans, I miraculously feel better.  Sometimes just being around them lifts my mood.  They help restore my faith in humanity and keep me grounded.  They give it to me as it is, not as I want it to be.

Being Active

Other times, the thing that brings me back to a balanced state is physical activity.  I’ve recently started training for a series of races.  Paired with a decent playlist, a 3 or 4 mile run outside can wipe out any stress I may be feeling.  There’s a slew of research statistics about the hormones that are produced in our brains when we exercise (if you’re interested, Google “hormones and exercise”).  What I know is that after a workout, I feel better, and that’s enough statistical evidence for me.

Me Time

The last bucket filler can be summed up in two words: Me Time.  Whatever me time looks like for you… get it.  Pull out that journal.  Park yourself on the couch armed with a giant bowl of popcorn and the last 7 episodes of Glee on your DVR.  Sing loudly in the car.  Chatroulette.  Whatever.  But find the time to do your thing.  I love and need my friends and family.  But everyday I take time for myself, away from all the drama and the noise, to take care of me.

Living a full and happy life is not about having a checklist full of accomplishments or meeting famous people or getting good grades or making a lot of money.  Sure, those things are wonderful experiences, make for good stories, and may add to the richness of my life, but they’re not the end all be all to a balanced happy life.  Not to me anyway.  Happiness comes from living with my buckets full or from actively seeking to fill them.