Cope, December 6, 2017

There’s this quote from Martha Stewart that circles through my thoughts regularly: “It’s okay to overreact, but never panic.” As I get older, I learn daily how to not panic, to stay true when things don’t go as planned and to cope. I remind myself: there’s always a way.

Rita (not her name), the student with autism that I mentioned in a previous post, continues to express the challenges of the end of the semester pressure. I keep reminding her that I believe in her, that it’s going to be hard, and she can do it. This is the mantra that we agreed to use when she says “I can’t.” While she maybe more vocal than others in the room, she shares the internal challenges that many students and adults feel on a daily basis. How to cope with the I can’t, this isn’t going as planned, I messed up, this is too hard, and the myriad of other negative thoughts that flow through our minds?

I have said Rita’s mantra back to her so many times this semester, that when I hear myself say “I can’t” or a variation of that, I immediately start to play her mantra, with this little extra piece, “If Rita can do it, I can do it.”

So this today’s collage is made for those inner Ritas. Find your coping tricks, have faith that there’s always a way.

Today’s prompt:

Play with repetition. Choose a subject and include at least 3-4 images of it.

Everyday through December 25th, I’ll be making a 5×5 inch collage, writing a short entry on this blog and sharing a prompt for those who might want to participate along with me. You can follow my progress by subscribing to this blog through the sidebar on the blog homepage, or by following me on Instagram.