The Weight of Being Left Out
While getting to know my students the first week, there was one who shared that they struggle with feeling left out. He said it’s hard for him when he doesn’t feel accepted, even if “there’s no reason to feel that way” which I took as meaning he can perceive it when it isn’t even happening. …
2024-2025 Reflections on Another Smashing School Year
Yesterday was the last day of classes with my students. There were lots of hugs and reflections, and well wishes for the upcoming Regents exams. I love my job so much; I’ve never felt so whole. At this job, I feel excited to teach, and calm in a way I never felt in past jobs.…
Here We Yoyo Again
Here we YoYo again, 2024 addition. THE SHIFT So it’s happening. I can feel it. The YoYo redirects. I’m working with a coach and right now I’m not touching a scale, but I still know. I know that I’ve shifted weight or lost weight. I can feel my clothes getting loose here and there. I…
Passing as Cis
PASSING I mentioned to a cis friend how important trans people must feel it is to pass right now, more than ever. Passing. My friend had no idea what I meant. They asked what passing was, what I meant by that. In that moment, I remembered how different things were for them. I forget that…
10 Tips for the New Morning Gym Goer
PAST EXPERIENCE It’s my first time back as a morning gym go getter in years but it’s not a first in my life by any means; it’s just been a good long while. I remember how it feels though, and getting it done before work is it!! Feels like a morning miracle every single time.…
Fat Forever
FAT FOREVER Sometimes I think I’m going to be fat forever at this point. I get really upset and think I hate this body. I can’t help but be honest. I want to love my body. I really do. But loving your body can be the hardest work because you’re always comparing yourself to your…
Missing Justin
GRIEF I think there’s a misconception of grief. Some people think grief dissipates or goes away, but really you just learn to live with it. You learn to compartmentalize so you can go to work, and resume a happy life. However, you know it’s there. It’s in their favorite shows, and memories on Facebook. It’s…
A Smashing Review on the Magnolia and Walnut Tree Theory of Teaching
Teachers! Read this if you haven’t. I come back to this notion often. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/marigolds/ SUMMARY What it boils down to is the comparison of magnolias, a flower that helps other plants grow around it, versus walnut trees which suck all the nutrients up and cause other plants around them to die. Walnut trees just take…
My 9/11 story
I never wrote this down but I remember it like it was yesterday. The day the world changed forever– 9/11/01. With the beginning of school and all these reflections I’ve had time to make, I can’t help but think of my teachers. I remember Mrs. Castelli telling us she’d be back in a moment, someone…
Teachers didn’t sign up for this
This is the story of a teacher who describes being in a lock down with her kids in the Apalachee shooting, not even the most recent shooting as I post this. https://www.kuow.org/stories/i-lied-a-teacher-describes-protecting-her-students-during-apalachee-hs-shooting This article is the story about a teacher named Jennifer Carter who lived through the Apalachee shooting. She talks about the lock down…
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Michie Smashing Thoughts 