As a teacher at a semestered school, the beginning of a new year actually means the end; after returning from our holiday break, we quickly find ourselves facing the final few weeks of the semester. We rush to complete units, prepare students for their end of the semester exams and tasks, and finally, get everything marked and evaluated for what can often be that final limp to the finish line.
I don't often set resolutions for myself during this time of the year--because of the way that January often doesn't feel like a beginning; the busyness towards the end of the semester often means that starting new practices doesn't generally fit successfully into the list of to-do's. But, January's not entirely an end, either.
For me, it also becomes a mid-point. It often becomes a marker of the halfway point in a school year. We are somewhere in-between. Like the space between an exhale and inhale.
This year, I want to use this in-between moment to more purposefully re-calibrate. I want to look at what I've done over the past 5 months and take a short pause to see what I want to carry into that new semester.
And then, I'll be ready to breathe in again and begin anew.