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Family values
Jun. 16th, 2014 10:25 amI had a very thought-provoking conversation with my mother the other night, talking about all the career and motivation and identity stuff that I've been struggling with. I have a lot of thoughts on that, but they're still a bit muddled, so I think I'm going to hold off on writing about them for now. Instead, I want to relate this one bit in particular, which makes me giggle in retrospect:
Mum: "So let's see if we can't find something for you to do where your liabilities are a positive! Don't you remember that old Star Trek episode--"
Me: "--where the deaf-mute diplomat has his telepathic chorus blaster-fried, and decides to mediate the planet's dispute by teaching both sides the sign language he uses, which would give them something in common, thus turning a disadvantage into an advantage. Yes, you've quoted that bit to me roughly 40,000 times over the course of my growing up."
Mum: *laughing* "Well, it's a great episode!"
The good news is, I've been feeling a lot better since then. Talking to my mother always cheers me up. It also didn't hurt that she bought me another month of yoga. (I swear, my insurance plan should cover at least part of it. It's preventative maintenance, and way way cheaper than antidepressants.) And there's a new teacher doing the Sunday-morning 1.5-level class whom I really dig. I might start going to her classes regularly; that works out nicely since I usually go to Erika's Monday-night class and take Tuesday off.
On the subject of CorePower, I'm thinking seriously about doing their teacher-training program sometime in the next year. It's not a small investment: $2750 and eight weeks of time, though if I'm a member at the time I get 20% off the price (and it says right on the website that they're committed to working with individual financial situations to ensure your presence in the class, so maybe if I can get a couple of the teachers to vouch for my candidacy I can get further discounts - I know a lot of them have seemed really happy to have me back). But yoga is one of the things I've managed to stick with long-term and still really enjoy, possibly because it's so personal and low-stakes (if there's competitive yoga, I've never heard of it). And teaching it is something I think I'd be good at and could do anywhere. And it would help with that lack-of-a-sense-of-identity issue I've been struggling with; yoga teaching isn't precisely high-social-status, but it does help people, which is something I feel like I don't do enough of. Plus, if I could get hired by CorePower, I'd have my membership fees covered, so it feels like a win all around.
Mum: "So let's see if we can't find something for you to do where your liabilities are a positive! Don't you remember that old Star Trek episode--"
Me: "--where the deaf-mute diplomat has his telepathic chorus blaster-fried, and decides to mediate the planet's dispute by teaching both sides the sign language he uses, which would give them something in common, thus turning a disadvantage into an advantage. Yes, you've quoted that bit to me roughly 40,000 times over the course of my growing up."
Mum: *laughing* "Well, it's a great episode!"
The good news is, I've been feeling a lot better since then. Talking to my mother always cheers me up. It also didn't hurt that she bought me another month of yoga. (I swear, my insurance plan should cover at least part of it. It's preventative maintenance, and way way cheaper than antidepressants.) And there's a new teacher doing the Sunday-morning 1.5-level class whom I really dig. I might start going to her classes regularly; that works out nicely since I usually go to Erika's Monday-night class and take Tuesday off.
On the subject of CorePower, I'm thinking seriously about doing their teacher-training program sometime in the next year. It's not a small investment: $2750 and eight weeks of time, though if I'm a member at the time I get 20% off the price (and it says right on the website that they're committed to working with individual financial situations to ensure your presence in the class, so maybe if I can get a couple of the teachers to vouch for my candidacy I can get further discounts - I know a lot of them have seemed really happy to have me back). But yoga is one of the things I've managed to stick with long-term and still really enjoy, possibly because it's so personal and low-stakes (if there's competitive yoga, I've never heard of it). And teaching it is something I think I'd be good at and could do anywhere. And it would help with that lack-of-a-sense-of-identity issue I've been struggling with; yoga teaching isn't precisely high-social-status, but it does help people, which is something I feel like I don't do enough of. Plus, if I could get hired by CorePower, I'd have my membership fees covered, so it feels like a win all around.
