Nervous about the new school year? Take it a day at a time.

Howdy all,

I’m Kat St.Pierre, Director of Communications for Higher Ground.

As a former teacher (and a student who moved from Tucson to rural Pennsylvania at age 13), I know the start of the school year can feel both exciting yet scary, isolating, and overwhelming.

Maybe you can relate?

I hope by the end of this letter you feel related to, calm, and a bit more joyful.

Embracing Who We Are—and the Experiences We Bring to Every Moment

As we enter a new school year, I’m reminded of my time as an 8th-grade English teacher. It was my childhood dream to be a teacher– Maybe it was Ms. Honey from Matilda or maybe it was how my adoptive dad embodied his chemistry teaching career long after he transitioned to construction and mechanics. The evident care, craft, and love drove me to the classroom.

I taught at two very different schools: a Title I school outside of DC and a school in coastal North Carolina before and during the pandemic.

What teaching in two very different districts taught me? Struggle and joy are universal. We’re all trying to move through our struggles the best we can with however we can cope. Regardless of income, political leanings, race, gender, or religion, we are all bound by our shared humanity. We are humans first. 

If you’re struggling to transition back into school mode, I offer you this fact: Life is challenging. We have a choice to wake up each day and pick our lens. Will you move through the challenge with joy or with suffering?

Each day is up to you.

How I Move Through Each Day With Joy

Human behavior is driven by 5 basic needs: survival, love, power, freedom, and fun.

Sometimes it feels unnecessary, trivial, or annoying to make time for fun. How can we think about fun when we have so much to do? How can we think about fun when we feel so bogged down? In reality, we have to think about fun or else we lose the root of our humanity.

Not to be all “live, laugh, love,” but to live is to laugh.

I found that when I focus on adding fun to all of those basic needs, I love my life. The seasons that I forget to find joy in life are the seasons where I become overwhelmed and eventually sick.

Our brains recognize patterns, and those patterns build our habits. If we make room for joy each day, it becomes easier to access in moments of unavoidable struggle. Much like lifting weights, when we build muscle, the same weight becomes easier to lift than before. And please trust me when I say that my 2020-21 were years of balancing unexpected grief with the joy of being alive. I got very good at the practice of finding joy in the mess.

Okay, What Does It All Look Like?

It’s the small, subtle things.

Here are very simple ways that I activate my joy muscle each week:

Like a cat or a houseplant, I follow the light in my house and office space.
I listen to music when I cook so it doesn’t feel like a chore for me.
I make time with friends who value me.
I do something goofy or childlike (and not in the way we use as an insult.)
I call my family and my chosen family.
I talk to myself nicely, and when I catch myself being hurtful to me, I recognize the underlying needs and pick differently.
I look at my cat, Billy. He is so peaceful and happy. He embraces being an animal.
I play calming music before bedtime.
I follow my self-care routine even when I don’t feel like it- It’s amazing that the simple act of flossing my teeth, brushing my teeth, and washing my face taught me so much self-respect.
I move my body consistently when I’m not sick.
I pick my outfit based on how I want my body to feel- flowy, cool, warm, or comfortable.
I talk to the people in my community– the people who I see each week at the grocery store, the people who attend the gym at the same time I do, my co-workers who I collaborate with, and passersby.
I ask for help from friends, and I help them when they need it.
I make art without the expectation of perfection or beauty.
I fill my house with colors that I love.

The list is endless when we practice finding joy in the act of being alive. We have this time, so why not make it precious? Oh right, because it takes practice and repetition to find the joy when the mess is so easy to find!

Show Up For Yourself– Why Discipline Matters

Discipline is often associated with rigidity, but in reality, it’s the foundation of joy and personal growth. It might seem tedious or even unwelcome, but discipline is what enables us to thrive in an unpredictable world.

Change is hard for most of us, even when we recognize its importance. It forces us to confront our habits and beliefs, challenging us to step into the unknown. This discomfort is precisely why discipline matters—because it gives us the structure and resilience needed to navigate change with more ease than before.

Reflecting on the early days of the pandemic, the world’s unpredictability became undeniable. At first, I couldn’t wait for the two-week break. Burnout from the demands of teaching, maintaining high energy, and enduring long hours in a windowless classroom left me drained. Without the external pressures that typically shaped my life, I felt lost, stuck in a version of myself that didn’t reflect who I wanted to be.

This period of struggle taught me a valuable lesson: I am the architect of my own life. To reclaim my sense of purpose and happiness, I had to take responsibility for my well-being. The first step? Rebuilding my discipline. I started with something simple but non-negotiable—30 minutes of movement each day. Whether it was yoga, walking, or a workout DVD from my high school days, this daily practice became a small act of self-respect that restored my sense of control and joy. I’m over 4 years into my movement commitment, and I love my gym community filled with people of all ages.

Discipline isn’t just about sticking to routines; it’s about creating the conditions for growth, joy, and resilience. When the world is unpredictable, showing up for yourself becomes an anchor—a way to navigate the chaos and emerge stronger on the other side.

If you want to strengthen your discipline, start with trying to find joy each day.
See if you feel more confident, open to possibilities, and lighter.

What About The ‘24-’25 School Year Though?

Our work at Higher Ground is driven by a commitment to community, equity, and empowering communities to navigate life’s challenges with resilience and joy.

At Higher Ground, we understand that every new season brings both opportunities and obstacles. We work alongside our communities, supporting each other in growth, even when it’s uncomfortable. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, remember that you have the power to choose your perspective.

As we enter the 2024-2025 school year, let’s remember that just like in life, the school year is a journey best approached one day at a time. The challenges will come, as they always do, but with a foundation of discipline and a commitment to finding joy in the everyday, we can navigate this new season with grace and resilience. Show up for yourself, stay grounded in your routines, and look for the light in each day. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, let’s embrace this year with a spirit of growth, knowing that each day is an opportunity to choose joy, even in the midst of struggle.

Here’s to a school year filled with small moments of joy, big strides in growth, and the daily practice of showing up for ourselves and each other.

Take it one day at a time,

Kat
Director of Communication