Rules (a lesson in life)

Today, I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Let's recap.
On my way to work, I almost got in a crash because people don't understand the rules of the road OR what the function of a blinker is. I got to work, there was fighting at the foosball table. At breakfast, kids were playing with their food. Recess was a nightmare as kids believed they were about the rules and decided to climb up the slide, sit on top of the equipment, not keep their hands to themselves, and a host of other rule breaking actions. When we got inside, we sat them down and reiterated the rules and, right when we were done, they started talking and yelling.  This behavior went on for about 4 more hours until I was able to leave for my other job. I was tense and frustrated, so my work was not up to my best quality. After my hours where up, I went to the dentist where I was informed I have 4 cavities to fill. Awesome. I drink black coffee, use sugar-free syrup for my lattes, don't drink lots of soda or eat much junk food. And I floss every night. Literally, every single night. So. Now I am laying in bed, wishing today never happened.
The biggest problem with today was the lack of rules being followed. Someone decided they didn't need to follow the rules of the road and just about caused an accident (good thing I wasn't changing radio stations or my car would have been smashed). The kids believed the rules did not apply to them so there was constant talking, tattling, hitting, yelling, and misbehaving. And I eat my fair share of dried fruit (cheaper than real fruit, thank you college), so now I have cavities. Rules, in all areas of life, are put in place to protect or improve us. The problem is that we don't like rules. They seem so restricting and mold-fitting. But are rules and ridged as we make them out to be? Looking back on my parent's rules, I am actually quite thankful for them. As crazy as this sounds, my parents had my best interest in mind when they gave me a curfew, took away my driving privileges, or told me I couldn't spend the night with a large group of people. One day, I hope these kids will see that the rules put in place, whether at the club, in school, or at home, or in life, are meant to keep them safe.
And I need to learn to shake things off. I was listening to "Keep your Head Up" by Andy Grammer. The biggest downfall for the day was that I let the little things get to me. I got upset at so much more, something I should not have done. The song goes like this: The glow that the sun gets right around sunset helps me realize this is just a journey, drop your worries, you are gonna turn out fine. Next time, I'll remember that. And be thankful for rules.

Roller Skating (a lesson in modern culture)

Today, I was a field trip leader for the older kids. Normally, I go home right after lunch so I only see the kids who come super early in the morning, most of them being under 8. This was the first time I'd been around any kids who had extreme attitude problems and could not listen to an adult. Honestly, I didn't even want to go but, right after lunch, 30 kids, myself and another staff boarded the bus. As I had anticipated, hardly any of the kids listened to me when I tried to instruct them on what to do and how to behave.
"Just let it go," I told myself.
About halfway through our time at the rink, I started talking to one of the boys who was singing the song that was being played.
"I really like this song. I turn it on when I'm in my room with my girlfriend so my dad won't hear"
I was shocked. This boy was 10 -years-old. How many girlfriends does a 10-year-old have? And why on earth would you let your 10-year-old have a 'significant other'?
This got me thinking. As appalled as I was at this new, it honestly didn't surprise me. The average age for a first kiss is 14 and the average age of having sex is 17, however by age 13, 17% of kids are already having sex. What does this say about our culture?
Listening to the songs they skating rink played, I found my answer. Children are born into an extremely sexual culture. At the rink, there where kids ranging from 5 to 15. The music choice fit more of a adult dance party than a family venue. There is literally no safe zone for young people. Sex is bombarded from every street corner- it's used in billboards on roads, in television, and in music. On the way home from work, I scanned the local radio stations and found I could not get away from some sort of sexual message. At least one or more of the 'popular' music stations streamed music with profanity or inappropriate content.
The biggest challenge is to find a way to de-sexualize these kids, to give them a place to be their age, not act like the songs on the radio. I don't like this modern culture nor do I suport the message it is sending our young kids, but this will not stop me from finding a way to relate and ingage this over-sexualized culture.

Morning recess (keep calm and carry on)

Today, I was responsible for the safety of about 25 kids. While they played outside.
"I've never done this before", I thought to myself as my supervisor told me she had to go run kids to a field trip.
How hard can it really be? The answer: stressful.
One girl lost her dollar for the snack shack. A boy got hit in the eye by a ball. Someone wanted me to push them, watch them climb up the tower, slide down the slide. I got a headache from the constant screams and screeched of "MISS OLIVIA! MISS OLIVIA!" Even the sweetest kids got on my nerves.

Upon return to our building, I found that I was the only staff who was not driving kids to various activities. I, a first year staff member, am, once again, in charge of 25 kids. This was not the day I had envisioned when I woke up. 

When my supervisor returned, I was flooded with relieve. I was so tired of reminding kids not to stand too close to the games tables, to take turns, watch their hands, use kind works, not to hit. However, I was not given a break even after we started regular activities. I was doing an art project aimed for younger kids since that's the age of kids usually in my room at that time. Because of the field trips, the older kid's activities was canceled and I had about 15 artist, double my normal attendance. And many of the older kids finished in about half of time the younger kids did.

I was totally unprepared to entertain such a diverse age of kids. Today was the hardest day at work. But, I learned important lesson: keep calm and carry on.
Getting too worked up over the rules kept me from enjoying my time with the kids. Being so concerned that everything was going according to the schedule kept me from adapting to go with the flow. In life, there are some things we can't control. Today was one of those things. I so love knowing whatever is going on and get frazzled when the plans change. Instead of getting stressed, it is important to keep calm and carry on.