It's amazing how time seems to pass and roll around. It feels like this term has just started in some ways, and it's over in 2 weeks! I have a feeling it will go by very quickly, since there is a lot to do.

It's winter here in Perth. It's really been a mild one, considering. But I still can't wait for the sun to come and stay. It's great to have a car. When it starts to get hot, we can actually get to the beach! Yay!

I guess you could say that I've been going through a bit of a rough patch both physically and emotionally lately. Nothing serious. I think I was (am?) just really overtired and possibly even anemic, and when I'm tired I get emotional. I have been beating myself up a bit, going through a phase where I don't think I can do anything right; I've been picking on myself about work, whether it's at school or at home, how I am in my relationships, my appearance, even my driving. On top of that, there are some things back in Canada that have been eating away at me, and have been for quite a long time. The littlest things have made me upset. Here's an example:

Someone is rostered on every morning to read a prayer in the staff room. I usually make sure I read the notices, but last Friday I was off sick and I forgot. Well, on Tuesday morning, Mel at work asked me if I was going to do the prayer now. Of course, I hadn't known it was my turn. It's no big deal - there are prayer books all around and I could just choose something, but to my horror, I started to cry. You know when you trip, and you know you're going to hit the ground and hurt yourself, but there is nothing you can do about it? A million thoughts go through your head in a matter of a few seconds. That's how I felt that morning when I felt the tears coming. Things were okay at work - I simply traded days with someone and excused myself, and explained that I hadn't been feeling well lately. The thing is, when something bothers me, I usually internalize it, bottle it up because I don't want to burden anyone else with it, and I tell myself that I should be independent and strong enough to just deal with it myself. I don't air out my laundry at work. It's not professional. However, too much of this internalizing leads to unpredictable breakdowns like the one that happened on Tuesday. The only thing I can do is be aware of it, and try to prevent this by being more open and honest, even if it means admitting weakness or fault.

On the upside, I think this slump is ending. I have felt really good in the last couple of days, and I'm excited to put all the energy I can into the last couple of weeks in the term. My year 10s had some fun reading "The Crucible", and even acting some of it out! We're going to be doing some activities, finishing off the watching of the film version and writing an essay. That play brings back so many good memories, I've had so much fun teaching it.