Training Time
“Finally, someone explained to me that my first steps did not necessarily determine one path for all my tomorrows.” Ashley C. Ford
It is always fun readapting to the school rhythm after a holiday. The difficulty lies usually in the fact that during the holidays we let fully go and then getting back to any sort of work makes it a rough transition. It takes a lot of effort to work during the holidays, but even the smallest efforts are rewarding. For example doing an hour of work daily is little, but it compounds very well over time. Thanks to doing exactly that I was up to speed this week. I managed everything well and felt extra energetic. I am happy that I rid myself of the "I need to study to get the grade" mentality (at least for this week). As much as I hate to admit it, I often fall prey to it, even though there is no clear reason behind wanting a specific grade. We cannot always be motivated by the same things and that's okay.
I am satisfied with my academic week, but like all stories, there are a few lows to contrast the highs. The most significant being my substitute chemistry teachers (this proves that it was a great week). My actual chemistry teacher is out for a week due to covid and this means my two chemistry lessons had substitutes. One of them I had seen before, nothing special, just someone who can talk one's ear off. The other on the other hand was a very energetic and very up to date woman.
As context, this class took place on Thursday from 12 to 13. Usually we have lunch during that time. So by that point everyone is very tired and hungry. Needless to say that it is not the best combo for attending classes. Anyway that chick walks in there and asks what we were doing last time and if we have clear work to do. Normal substitute stuff. We got working. She walks by me and stops. She squints at my worksheet and says at a volume that almost seemed like screaming "This" while pointing onto one of my answers "is WRONG!" I was baffled. I had not asked for help. She corrected my mistake on the whiteboard. When she was done correcting, I got my voice back and said quietly: "I was not done..." Without admitting that input she just said "But it was WRONG."
As I said I felt alive this week. Music sounded better than usual, food tasted fresher, it is as if all my senses were enhanced. One of the reasons for this state being that I was on top of my game from start to finish. I was aware, present. The other reason is more intrinsic but slightly related: I feel like I am owning up to my mistakes, at least I try to consciously do so. Two weeks ago I talked about how skiing made me realise that failure is an important part of the learning process. Now I am realising that it is not only important to fail but to reflect on that failure.
This woke state was also translated into schoolwork. School subjects actually spoke to me. I felt the desire to learn. I actually watched a lot of Veritasium videos instead of the usual Netflixing. I especially enjoyed Math Has a Fatal Flaw, where we are told that "Not everything that is true can be proven". The video goes very much in depth and builds a great mathematical story with history, theories broken down and reflection-inducing paradoxes.
When going to volleyball trainings I try to get a team mate to pick me up because the trip to the training hall with public transport is very long. This team mate varies from time to time. This week I had one of our outside hitters taking me. When I sat into his car I was suddenly surprised to see a Miss Monique (Ukrainian techno dj) set playing and when we got to talking about music it did not end until we started the training!
This Sunday I took part in my first real "away" volleyball game. We took a minibus with the team and rode all the way down to Paris. This game was supposed to be quite a clear win. The first set we did an easy 25-12. Next we lost two sets. We were pretty angry about that result so we went all in for the next set. At 2-2 the tension was high. The last set was very tight. We got to 15-15. Then we lost. 17-15 Very unfortunate, nevertheless I am happy with my performance. I played four out of five sets and made only a few minor mistakes.
That's all for this week! Thanks for being here!