A Change in Perspective

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk in somebody else’s shoes?

I have, many times.

As a victim of trauma and child abuse, I have often wanted to be other people. You’ve probably wondered the same.

What is it really like to be somebody else? To walk in somebody else’s shoes for a while, or forget the world for a few days.

Theater professionals or actors and actresses work to entertain an audience by being someone else.

Do you ever do this in real life? (Be honest here).

Do you put on a mask and pretend to be someone that you’re not when you’re at work, or in a social situation?

How often do you say “yes” when you really want to say no?

What if you could try it for real?

How do you think it would feel to be somebody else?

I’ve recently changed careers from working in elementary school to working in high school.

Older students are very different than younger kids. They are in the “between age.” They’ve left their childhood years and entered a more challenging age.

Being a teenager is a trying age. It happens at the same time as your body is changing and you’re awash with hormones.

Nothing is as it seems and constantly changes. It’s like walking on slippery stones across a river, never knowing when you’ll slip and fall into the deep end.

You fall in and out of love. Friendships come and go. Embarrassments and dramas happen every day in school. Keeping up with the latest trends is exhausting.

It’s an age of searching for identity and belonging. When emotions run high and low like a rollercoaster.

The time when choosing a career path suddenly becomes more important than anything else. What classes do you pick over others? What do you really want to do in your life?

These are life changing questions we ask from our students at an age when they are still figuring out who they are.

You learn to drive and get your independence. But how do you use it?

So much is happening to you when you’re a teenager.

I’ve just been away for a week on an outdoor activity camp. There was patchy internet, so I’ve had little contact with the outside world.

When you’re immersed in a different setting or with different people for a few days, something happens to you.

Your perspective begins to shift because your reality has changed.

I spent my days hanging out with teenagers without cell phones and we had a blast outdoors.

We went zip lining, rock climbing, laser tagging, cycling and running. When we weren’t on land we went to the watersports area to have fun. We took the jet skis and kayaks out on the water and lazed around in the sun on tubes.

My world was that of safety and conquering fears instead of teaching a class. I was having so much fun and I learned a lot from being closer to the students that I teach.

We can learn so much from the younger generation because they see things in a different way. Young people don’t carry the worries that adults do. They live here and now.

When I was zip lining, my mind switched off from my normal day to being in the moment.

I felt the wind in my ears as I whooshed across the treetops at breakneck speed. All I could think about in that moment was how wonderful the world looked from up there.

A moment of pure bliss.

Have you ever had moments like that?

I want more of them, and you deserve them too.

From now on, I want you to try something new. Choose an activity that you might not have considered before or going away to a different place for a few days.

Let nature take you away from the “here and now,” into your bliss.

I love that word — bliss. I think it means perfect moment in teenager speak. I picked up many new words and acronyms for words by hanging around my students.

I saw my students conquering their fear of heights and speed. It’s not easy putting on a safety harness and trusting that the rope will hold you as you climb up a rock face.

It’s not easy trusting that a machine will take you safely across the water when you’ve never tried jet skiing.

My students showed me resilience and how to trust each other during team work.

I felt like I was in another world wearing somebody else’s shoes for a while. It was a great outdoor camp and I’m going again next time it comes up.

Everything starts with you and that includes your true self without masks and trying to be someone you’re not.

Life is too short to be someone else.

What are you waiting for? Give it a shot.

My name is Lizzy. I’m a trauma survivor, a wife, a mom, a teacher, and an author.

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For more about me: www.elizabethwoodsauthor.com

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More from Elizabeth Woods:

How Do You Manage Stress?

https://medium.com/activated-thinker/how-do-you-manage-your-stress-477b7a66153d

Are You Feeling Valued?

https://medium.com/illumination/are-you-feeling-valued-fc1376f695bc

Challenge Vs. Struggle

https://medium.com/activated-thinker/challenge-vs-struggle-af12e236afa2

What’s Your Anxiety Variety?

https://medium.com/illumination/whats-your-anxiety-variety-552117898656

Do You Have Humility?

https://medium.com/illumination/do-you-have-humility-1224f30ba785