I have not yet figured out how to let down my guard about sharing the trials and tribulations of my school days. I’m going to try putting up lists of three things I’m grateful for on a given day instead and elaborating on those as I see fit.
1) I have been off Facebook and Instagram for two weeks. I miss sharing things like the funny signs on the Sav-Mor liquor store and looking at cute fat babies, but I am gradually freeing myself of the mentally poisonous cycle of looking at these sites on my downtime. I told my students this. One commented “but you’re missing so much!”
What *am* I missing?
a) Comparisons to the following people: the runner who humblebrags about her oh-so-badass polar vortex marathon training run, the mom who created a Pinterest-perfect party for her toddler, or the hashtag-addicted Top Chef who crafted three perfectly-lit, scrumptious Whole30-compliant feasts.
b) The negative energy of those who complain all the time about everything under the sun. From a teenager, this is understandable. From an adult in his/her late 30’s, the “woe is me” behavior is unfollow-worthy. From a supposedly educated liberal, ignorant comments about things like Ferguson are unfriend-worthy.
c) Clickbait from Buzzfeed, Quartz, Elite Daily, Clickhole, and ThoughtCatalog. No wonder I’m behind on reading real books…I’m just reading crap on my T rides and while waiting in lines!
2) Friends on Netflix makes me really happy. It makes me think of high school and college friendships that were more meaningful than Facebook-only ties.
3) My husband and I got to eat breakfast together because it’s a holiday. He’s usually not up when I leave for school, so it was nice to enjoy egg bagels over CNN with him.
