“You know I’m working on my self-care” “I took today off for a self-care day” “I haven’t had a self-care day in a minute” Self-care is the new trending buzzword and for once we have something that is actually beneficial. As with anything that becomes “popular” via social media, many folks are oblivious to what it entails or how to […]
Y’all. 2019 whooped my ass. Like I’m legit still trying to figure out why it was so rough for me. And then I realize that I have to hold myself accountable for a majority of the things that happened. Unfortunately I’m THAT friend that’s hard headed. When I’m told that fire burns, my response is “oh yeah, lemme see for myself.” I put my hand on the stove despite the warnings, get burned and simply run cool water over the newly forming blister. I took hella losses. Everything from finances to business opportunities to my physical, mental and spiritual health. These losses were all used to teach me lessons that I’ve been needing to grow. Growth (n): a stage in the process of growing the process of growing progressive development expansion BUT. Instead of listing all of the hard headed ass lessons I learned, I’ve decided to simply sum up my biggest take aways from 2019. Moderation is Key Thats with everything. Eating. Drinking wine. Working out. Anything done in excess took away from the goal that I was trying to accomplish. I’ve spent the bulk of the year hyper fixating on crafting that I’d forget to eat. There was a period when I was obsessed with notebooks and spent quite a bit of my finances ordering them online. There were periods where I would obsess about how much I was spending on gas and food. The key was remembering […]
This is not the end. My intention was to create a lasting impact in your lives that was unforgettable. I hope that I have accomplished that. You already know that I’m a writer. I am aware that many of you hate reading. I’ll keep it short I swear. Thank you for compromising as I exit stage left. Fall 2019 in my classes has been BIG LIT. ON GOD. NO CAP. I have thoroughly enjoyed our lessons and teachable moments. It has been rather difficult trying to stay on topic in class with everything going on in the world. Thank you for bringing your questions, comments and concerns into the classroom. I am honored you have trusted me to allow those conversations to be had. Thank you to the folks that respected my 9-minute hall pass limit. And for those that didn’t, thank you for leaving the hall pass on the piano bench or under the door before you decided to skip respectfully. Thank you for those that skipped everyone else’s class except mine. I actually brag on that a lot. Thanks for never disrespecting me (especially when I’ve seen and heard interactions with your other teachers). I’m flattered. I hope that you never forget my words to you about power. In case you have already, here’s a reminder. When people lack power in their personal lives, they seek it in other environments. The classroom is no exception. Don’t let others […]
One year ago I entered the doors of education as a bright teacher with high hopes of being able to reach and teach every student that entered my classroom. Some days I’m still that educator. Other days I question whether or not I’m actually making a difference. On those days I go home, crack open of Aldi’s wine and read reflection assignments that I had my kids write about my class. I binge watch 13 Reasons Why. Lean on Me. Dangerous Minds. There are also times that I vent to my non-teacher friends and reserve the hard hitter items for my notebooks. For the first time in my life, I feel that I’m working in my purpose. I have the job that creates all the other jobs. Nurturing the future. Planting seeds of wisdom. All the cliche catch phrases associated with being a teacher. But regardless of how critical my role is, how much I pour into my kids, the moral of the story is that the education system itself is failing our kids. But you already knew that. So I’m not sure if I told you. I currently teach Principles of Business and Finance and Entrepreneurship I at the high school level. Last year I taught Essentials of College Math, Math 2 and Advanced Functions and Modeling. Do I have a degree in math? Nope. Am I good at it? Yep. They needed a teacher. I needed […]
As many of you may know (or don’t know), I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety and depression in November 2015. Since then it’s been a colorful rollercoaster to reduce the number of panic attacks, suicide attempts/thoughts and breakdowns. I’m grateful to everyone who’s tagged along, supported me or literally saved my life. Moving forward Pretty Dope Right?®️ will be a blog dedicated to sharing my journey according to my anxiety and depression. How it’s defined me, allowed me to define myself and forced me to find a functioning medium. Thank you for reading -Racquell
Journal Entry: July 31, 2018 Today started out as a regular day. I dreaded hearing the alarm clock. I repeated my affirmations. Hit the bathroom and prepared to walk Milo. Our walk was like any other day with him ignoring the conversation I tried to have with him. I got dressed and went to work on what I would have […]
It is approaching the end of the summer. For those of you that don’t know, I am a high school teacher. I too, was under the false impression that summers were reserved for trips around the country, binging on Netflix series and waking up at 5pm from hangovers. This summer has been the furthest thing from that. This week […]
