As I enter this second week of vacation, I realize that my preparation for this trip is more about how carefully I prepare myself to be an open vessel for what I am about to receive. My preparation up to this point has been about physical needs (strengthening, stretching, synthesizing) but my mental capacity to learn and grow is what I am now going to concentrate on.
Some of what I still have to do is paper work (writing each day, invoices in, packing, and other busy work) but the monumental task really is how to remember that the learning I will be participating in is for me to become stronger mentally, and more engaged in my life.
Curiosity and creativity are two factors which matter greatly to me and are the two which fall by the wayside during the normal routine of life. As I enter phase two of this summer's fellowship, I will be concentrating on how I am using the knowledge to grow personally. In this respect, I will be a more effective and less "worried" educator. Knowing my center is the crux of the matter.