“The most significant relationships are the ones that bring us restoration. Restoration of our hope, of our aliveness, our missing pieces. When we encounter them, we feel ourselves return to wholeness. These are the relationships we need.” – Jeff Brown
There are a lot of different things I could focus on over the last few weeks— a lot of things I could write about. I’ve had a lot of challenging experiences, filled with genuinely hard but beneficial learning and growth, and some situations that started to re-trigger my PTSD. The first hard-ish things, after years of really, really, really hard things, can be scary… when you have PTSD, out of your control. I got through a couple hard days because of the people in my life that bring me restoration. That have restored much of what had been lost. That feel safe and for me, don’t just feel like home, are home.
I don’t think people complete people, or need people to be completed. But when you’re a trauma survivor, finding people that naturally and unintentionally help restore the damage that occurred to your neurons (and for many, by other people) might be the most powerful healing tool available to you. In some cases, I felt resistant to trust— to trust again is terrifying. To know who to trust is even harder.
If you’re a trauma survivor, pay attention to the relationships that restore your energy, not deplete it. Trust in those relationships, even if you’ve been wrong before… and focus on nurturing them. Those relationships are one of the many ways the light can get in and we can heal and recover and break our own cycles… and help guide our students while they embark on their own cycle breaking paths.
Being a teacher has never been more challenging… but with the right people, the restoring type of people, we can get past the hard days. Every. Single. Time.
Ah– outfit time!
top: shein (x-small) | pants: express (00) | shoes: DSW (size 7.5)
sweater: old navy (x-small) | leather leggings: loft (x-small, petite) | shoes: converse (7.5, true to size)
top: express (x-small) | jeans: gap (24, regular) | rings: express | hair tool (not pictured but I’m obsessed) here This blow dryer brush is the only reason I’ve been wearing my hair straight so often. It’s amazing. Aaa-freaken-MAZING.
skirt (actually a dress): shein (sold out) (x-small), same style different print here and really cute here | shirt: old navy (x-small) | shoes: nordstrom (7.5, true to size) | socks: old navy
top: old navy (x-small, petite) | pants: amazon (0) | shoes: target, old, similar
dress: shein (x-small) | converse: famous footwear (7.5, true to size) | dinosaur: h&m
Wishing you and your students a wonderful week!
with kindness | ashley
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