Happiness

This year, I am happy. Last year, my feelings would have been drastically different. The learning curve of first year teaching was painful and not always successful. These days though, things are falling into place:

1. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being terribly unhappy and 1o being ecstatic, I am currently at a 9.

2. On a scale of 1-10, I oscillate between a 1-2 on the unhappy scale, depending on the amount of unnecessary bureaucratic demands of my job.

3. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being apathetic, 10 being extremely involved, I am currently an 8 on the scale. I care about what I am involved in, what I am teaching and what I am doing.

4. Ideally, I would like to remain at a 9 in constant happiness. I do not think it is possible (especially with this job and ASU/TFA demands) to get a perfect 10. 9 is close enough. It means that there will be those flop days but it implies that most days are pretty good, if not great.

5. In order to maintain a level 9 rating of happiness, I am going to continue to do the following things: hike, coach frisbee at my school, exercise at least 4 days a week, read great books for pleasure, continue to cook, take time for myself and my friends, camp and go to live music shows. If I continue to maintain a balance of self and job, I know that I will be content.