Last week, I traveled to NYC to begin getting oriented in my new job. It was a real eye-opener! I think I was very naïve when I accepted the position, and now I have a much better sense for what the real demands of the job will be. In short, I felt extremely stressed and totally overwhelmed. How can I possibly manage the administrative workload alongside the obligations to develop new courses for my own teaching portfolio and publish, publish, publish?
I don't have any answers, and I think how I learn the answer to that question will very much govern my experience over the next three to four years. A few important things I already know: I will need to learn how to handle a stressful job without bringing it home, without allowing it to make me unhappy or worried all the time. I will need to learn how to set shorter term, more manageable goals – baby steps, if you will. I will need to learn how to use the resources at my disposal to be a more effective leader and to trust others to help me with the work. And I will need to learn to be brave.
As overwhelmed and torn as I felt last week, it was not all doom and gloom. Campus was looking beautiful in the spring sunshine:
I don't have any answers, and I think how I learn the answer to that question will very much govern my experience over the next three to four years. A few important things I already know: I will need to learn how to handle a stressful job without bringing it home, without allowing it to make me unhappy or worried all the time. I will need to learn how to set shorter term, more manageable goals – baby steps, if you will. I will need to learn how to use the resources at my disposal to be a more effective leader and to trust others to help me with the work. And I will need to learn to be brave.
As overwhelmed and torn as I felt last week, it was not all doom and gloom. Campus was looking beautiful in the spring sunshine:
This building is my department's home. Sure, it looks stately from the outside, but on the inside, it sort of looks like a cross between a high school and an asylum. Ah well.
I stayed with my lovely friend Benet and got a little taste of Brooklyn life – running in Prospect Park, watching hipsters on the L, trying in vain to find a U.S. Mailbox. More to come, I'm sure – I'm mulling a new blog, one for my post-bridal life!
thanks for sharing more about your new job and how you are feeling... so sorry this is so overwhelming... it's a huge assignment.. you're a hero. you made this decision for the best reasons, dearie! so proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until I visit you and watch you lecture!
ReplyDeleteI love how you describe yourself as being "very naive" when you accepted... how many weeks ago was that? See how quickly you learn? ;) Look at it this way-- this is going to be very challenging, but you are also going to learn SO MUCH, develop resilience, become a leader, etc... as the saying goes, smooth seas don't make skilled sailors!