Weekly Question: How do we engage as professionals?

 Essential Question: How do we operate as part of multi-layered overlapping professional communities?


This week I am (mostly) bucking the trend I have set for myself and deciding to talk about whatever I want because I can't bring myself to write about the readings to just check a box. This has been an exhausting semester. And if we really want to talk about the EQ, operating as part of overlapping communities is  e x h a u s t i n g. I have a full 12 hour load of college coursework and then attempt to spend 6-8 hours with/teaching/learning alongside high school freshman all while rarely leaving my house or getting fresh air because there's a pandemic. Operating amongst those two communities -- college students and high school students (and high school teachers) is already a whole lot of different worlds colliding, but it's difficult when none of them look like what you expected them to, not even because you had faulty expectations, just because the entire world has changed.

So to address the question, I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet. I mean, I guess I have because I'm doing it, but I wouldn't say I'm doing it successfully or in a way that is conducive to health and well-being. I saw this graphic this week from one of my favorite creators, and it sums up how I've been feeling: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgF-F8F5Ku/
Sometimes, how we operate as part of multiple communities is that we just do. We spin the plates enough to keep going, we march along, and we hope for the best. Honestly, I think the best way is to lessen the load when you have too many communities like this. I don't have that option yet, but I'm looking hopefully towards the coming semester and praying that it does ease up. Lessening my college obligations feels like it will be helpful for me, even if I am picking up significantly more work in the other. Because right now too much of the work is conflicting. I need more overlaps. But instead I'm procrastinating on work that I don't want to do with work that I feel less sucky while doing because at least the less sucky work feels relevant to the communities I actually want to be a part of. Sadly, that means the communities I'm forced into (math majors mostly, I guess?) are suffering and I dedicate a ton of nervous, bad energy to them.

So yeah. I'm not sure if there's anything too profound or groundbreaking for me here. There's a pandemic going on and I'm already trying to do something I think is too much to put on a college student (8 hours of practicum plus a college courseload). Thus, how we operate is we just do. We march on. We try our best. We hope for the best. And we maybe come out the other side. Hopefully.

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