Cresting the Wave - End of Term 2 Blues (a late post)

Apologies for this late post as it was written before the holidays, but then holidays happened. This post has become even more prevalent with the loss of some music industry icons recently.

Cresting the Wave….. Term two blues.

It’s never an easy task teaching… those that say it is easy are usually lying or just super prepared and organisational machines… I am neither unfortunately. Working in a school with English as a second language and in a different state/territory that I have been used to is hard. Purely that….Hard

It has taken some time to get used to the many differences here in the Territory/Tiwi Islands and I didn’t want to paint a bad picture about it at all. This entry is not about that. The school itself here is doing amazing things. The people who work here do amazing things day in and day out. The support for each other is tremendous and forthcoming without judgment.

I have struggled a bit this term (term 2) with what I have come to deem it as “cresting the wave”. First term was great, new school, new boat, new friends and meeting people in a new environment. And not much time to think about what else is going on in the world. Second Term is now nearly over. Only a couple weeks before I head back south to NSW for Bush holidays (which I am very much looking forward to) However, this term has been a difficult one for me.

The wave has crested and all the things that have been exciting are now normal (which is good on the way up) but motivation has waned as well as feeling off or homesick (crested the wave and on the way down) I have never really been homesick in the last 15 years. First year of uni was tough but with the passing of my mum, and I never really thought about it until recently. It is plain and simple I miss “home” the remoteness and distance at which I am away from friends and family has made it hard to get through this term.

There is a bright side to all of this though… the support that fellow teachers have given and the friends and family who have been rocks to lean on. My bestie back home who is in the last stages of her first pregnancy (has since given birth to a b-e-a-utiful little girl) has given words of wisdom and support for me which I appreciate immensely, my two housemates here on the island are always good to sit down with over a cup of tea and discuss what is going on with ourselves, and support from people in community, fast friends who always encourage you and support you just by being there to have a chat with and maybe a beer or two with some fishing chucked in.

Honestly Fishing has been a godsend. A lot of people have hobbies and passions and things they do to destress…. Fishing is that for me. 

Not everyone loves fishing, and I understand that. I mean sometimes you sit/stand/walk for hours without so much as a bite (the down times where you can just relax and let the world pass you by without too many cares in the world) then there are those times when it is hot… every cast has the potential for fish, and every move of the boat or bait is carefully decided. And then the hook up… the adrenaline that courses through your brain and arms when you know a fish has taken the bait… and then the stress of landing that fish safely without a bust up.. then the feeling of elation when it is a PB or new species.. 

One such occasion was last week (early June) when I landed a 1.5m (a baby according to some) Saw Fish. Around the 20-25kg mark, it was a great sight to see and privilege to catch a creature of such size and beauty. Was also great to safely let it go back into the Tiwi waters…

But yes… Fishing has been a great way to relax and destress…

I have never been one to really talk about feelings or how I am feeling.. its been something I have always avoided. But recently and only recently I have realised that without talking and trying to find support it can get too much for some people. And I now can encourage people to speak up and say how they are feeling. Another reason for this blog post.. to let the world know I wasn’t doing so well, but now I am getting there.. A positive outlook is definitely refreshing after these couple of weeks… so chin up peoples.. Thanks for reading along and hopefully people out there who are doing it tough reach out.

I encourage anyone not doing ok to speak up to anyone, a trusted friend, a work colleague or someone professional to help. For me I was lucky to be ok after talking it through and putting some things into place to help me through the tougher times. To those that have stood strong for me to lean against thanks for all you have done, even though i might not have named you in this post. 

Update: saddened to hear about the loss of one of my idols growing up, Chester Bennington of the band Linkin Park. Along with the band, their music helped me study, get pumped up for a night out with friends and also to chill out to. The world lost another great singer in Chris Cornell of Audioslave. These two men and respective bands have had such a positive impact on my life and I always looked up to these two men in awe of their talents and strengths, not realising that they were in one way or another going through things I had experienced (in a small way). I hope these men have found peace, I hope their families can find strength and get through the grief that comes from such loss. RIP to them both.

Stay Safe people, Remember to talk to someone and don't be afraid to ask for help.

happy fishing people

Brad xo