Raggedy Ann(e)
Ain’t nothing left
Cause you ran yourself raggedy
Ain’t nothing but a ghost walking to and fro
Mumbling to-do lists and calendar dates
Ain’t nobody fault but your own
You let them run you raggedy
Down to your bare soul
Each task mocking you
Laughing loudly
Girl, get it together and let it go.
Ain’t nobody ask for no raggedy Ann
The past month and a half has been a whirlwind of emotions and events. It feels as if each day happened two weeks ago. I found myself subscribing to grind culture. I thought I could be hyper-productive through the stress, but I was wrong and it all came crashing down last Wednesday.
I had to take a break.
I was running myself raggedy. I could feel it in my body and see it on my face. I knew that I could not continue the semester in this way. I reached out to some friends who gathered me in a loving way. So I sat myself down and had an honest talk.
Question Negative Thoughts - I had to ask myself “Who told you that you are not good enough”? Truth is that no one told me that. Why have I let this thought run free? We have to quickly address negative thoughts and correct them. Allowing them to run free through your mind will cause further harm.
Unrealistic Expectations - Along with the self-inflicting negative thoughts I also realized that the expectations that I were trying to meet came from me. I had this idea of what a successful school counselor, doctoral student, partner, friend, daughter, sister, Soror, etc looked liked during the midst of a pandemic and I was failing. However, no one placed these expectations on me. I had to free myself from them.
It’s Okay to Change my Mind - I was hellbent on sticking with a schedule that I created before I started working full-time and attending school part-time. Now that I am six weeks into this hot mess express I had to re-evaluate my schedule. So I scheduled a morning walk, reading for fun, and increased the days I want to work from home. It has only been a week with these new changes, but I feel significantly better. If your current plan is not working for you- just create a new one. It’s okay.
I want to encourage you not to run yourself raggedy- mentally, emotionally, or physically. Take some time today to truly check in with yourself. Make yourself some tea and evaluate how things are going. Be embolden to make adjustments as needed.
Let me know what changes you decide to make…
