The past two months have been insanely busy.  My masters started up again and I churned out another paper to get me halfway there.  Speaking of halfway, My contract is almost halfway finished!   The intersession is underway and   I have a rowdy class, many of whom failed the course with me last semester.  For now they’re on task and we’re getting work done, but they can be utterly exhausting to deal with at times. I’m not saying they’re bad people, just that keeping your cool and patience when dealing with constant behavioural issues is taxing.  These student have largely grown up in a situation where everyone they deal with outside of family and friends is there to serve them in some way.  So that mindset often follows them into the classroom.   There’s a cultural dynamic here that honestly I’m still wrapping my head around.   On the worst days, and unfortunately there were a lot of ‘worst days’,  I’d come home exhausted and struggle through my studies, my mind numbed by exertion of teaching and the stress of what lay ahead.   That being said, making it through and finishing this paper really did wonders for my outlook.  Rising to the occasion is one of life’s little treats, it leaves you feeling satisfied. I took a victory lap this past weekend, spent time with friends, ate out, relaxed and reminded myself for the moment, life’s good.