It’s hard to believe I’m already in week 3 of this new school year. It feels like it’s going so fast already. I’m learning about who my students are and creating the relationships with them. They, on the other hand, are beginning to be more comfortable and are testing some of the boundaries and the rules.

August is also a little weird for me because it’s really the end of relatively uninterrupted time. Even though I had a busy summer, I was able to focus a lot on goals and projects for myself. Now that that time is ended and I’m back to work every day, it’s getting to be more about what I did well this year, and what goals I want to set for myself for next year.

However, this kind of puts me in limbo. The year itself is over halfway done. On a personal level, I want to start looking at the things I did well for this year, what I feel I need to improve, and what goals I want to set for myself for next year.

On the other hand, as I’m starting a new school year, I’m making expectations for myself to meet so that I can stay consistent all year. I keep my to-do list running, and I’m putting in a lot of work now to have a good school year.

This leaves me feeling a little stuck in limbo at times. I am in process of both review and setting goals and expectations for myself. Sometimes this makes it so that I don’t know how to focus on things. My attention and focus can feel so divided that I don’t know where to put my energy. I worked last week to sort out a schedule and my priorities for myself. While that helps a little, life still has a way of getting in the way. I’m working to juggle my job, spending time with family and friends, maintaining my relationship, continuing in taekwondo, and continue prepping my goals.

Right now, I’m really just trying to focus on one aspect at a time. While I’m at school, I want to make this the best year possible for myself and my students. I’m setting expectations, and I’m excited for some of the things I’m doing with them. I’m setting boundaries and creating ideas. I know I’m only three weeks in, but I’m enjoying how things are shaping up. I’m also enjoying teaching again, and that gives me a lot of hope.

When I leave work, I do a good job of making sure work stuff stays at work. But I also want to make sure I’m spending time with people I care about. So I allot intentional time to spend with my loved ones. This helps me not get too involved and isolated with only myself for company.

I’m also working on continuing taekwondo, both as a student and as an instructor. My journey in martial arts isn’t done just because I earned a black belt. There’s always still more to learn, goals to work towards, and ways to improve. I try to make sure I fit that in my schedule.

However, I’m also trying to prepare for next year. I am working on creating a full journal for myself, and I want to have that as done as possible by January 1st. That way, I won’t get behind on the things I want to track and organize, and it already looks good.

Throughout the day, I could be wearing any number of hats depending on what all I’m doing that day. And it gets to be a lot of work at times. I’m not going to pretend it’s always easy either. Just this week I’ve been feeling lost or stuck because I don’t know what to focus on. This game of limbo I keep playing catches up with me for sure and can make things difficult.

I don’t really have the answers. Things are still too much sometimes. When I find myself in those moments, I try to slow down to what I’m focusing on and let everything else fade away. It doesn’t always work, but it can usually help to ground me enough. I juggle a lot, especially as I’m in a brand new school year and starting to look towards next year. I need to remind myself that this year isn’t a waste. I still have five months. Every day is a learning opportunity. Every day is a growth opportunity. Who I am now and the things I work towards will shape my future. Those are important reminders as I continue to balance. I think I’m figuring things out, but I want to make sure that my priorities are aligned as I work to find balance and master this game of limbo.

If you need to hear this too, then know you’re not alone. I write about my problems and my experiences in the hope that someone else will benefit from them too. But even still, if you’re not in a situation, I appreciate you taking the time to read this post. Life is a lot sometimes, and that’s okay. But no one can pick up the pieces of your life for you. It’s up to you to decide what you want to do and how you want to handle things. I know I’m excited for what next year holds for me, but I also need to remind myself to be excited about what tomorrow holds for me as well.