Hello! I last noded sometime 5 years ago, but took a bit of a hiatus. It's nice to be back. I like what you've done with the place.
It's times like this, when everything's wrong and the shit and the fan collide that writing is so important. There's nowhere better to live, learn and express than in a supportive community like this one. In times of stress, I've got to go back to basics.
Teaching is great, in theory. In practice, it is pain and suffering for all involved as growth, frustration and obstacles pile on in non-Euclidean arrangements at inopportune moments. There are few things as demoralizing as the realization that despite my best efforts I cannot accomplish what I set out to, and that I may never succeed no matter how long and hard I labor. And that my failure leads to the failures of my students only amplifies my distress.
New job, new roommates, new house, new year. Everything is new and wonderful and challenging and laced with stress. I've lost one community after another in the past few years and now I'm adrift with little support and even less inspiration. I hope to someday have a supportive community to call my own.
But the ultimate trump card, which defeats all obstacles, is still sitting in my deck waiting to be drawn and played: hope. Things can only get better. In time this will all be a pained memory, a moment of strife before a moment of punctuated growth. That's the hope at least. Here's to hoping that tomorrow is better than today.