on the breezes of the sky.
And you ask, “What if I fall?”
Oh, but my darling, “What if you fly?”
This quote was penned by Erin Hanson, a young Australian poet, and is one that I’ve seen and heard countless times. This theme is one that came up in my personal life a few months ago when I made the switch from a job at a company where I had worked for over seven years. I felt excited and I knew intellectually that this switch would bring forth growth and adventure and also a schedule that would allow for further self-care and would propel me toward my passions. And still, I was scared. Of the unknown and of the possibilities.
Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy Upper School Raises Mental Health Awareness
By Judie Jacobson
STAMFORD – Life isn’t always easy. But getting through life as a teenager – dealing with the emotional challenges of transitioning between childhood and adulthood – can be especially difficult, even in the best of times. Add to that the stresses created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the level of angst and anxiety among teens is amped up even further.
Well aware that many teens were struggling with mental health issues and, moreover, that they did not feel comfortable sharing their experiences with others, BCHA Upper School principal Rabbi Shimmy Trencher, school counselor Angela Wilson, and special programs coordinator Ilana Bauman put their heads together and came up with an idea to give a voice to these students – and others like them – by bringing mental health awareness to the entire student body.
By Temimah Zucker, LCSW | January 07, 2021
The idea of this being the start of a “New Year” is not one that really speaks to me. I, like most of our Jewish community, think of the new year as being around September, when the first of Tishrei rolls around. I also cannot help but think of the start of the year as relating to school though I am no longer a student the time in September when there is a feel in the air of fresh beginnings.
So when December 31 hits and many of my friends and colleagues post about saying goodbye to the year, I typically shrug it off, noting that I’ll need to remember the year change when signing notes or writing a check, but otherwise not having much of a response, let alone an emotional response.
2020, Food and the Body: We Need to Actually Talk About This By Temimah Zucker, LCSW | December 24, 2020
I have written before about the common experience of feeling as if we’re immersed 24/7 in talk of the pandemic, and also how some of us rarely truly speak about it about how it makes us feel. About many of our hopes that were washed away by the majority of 2020. About the anxiety and the fear and the ways we’ve been pushed and had to push ourselves. Of the loss and grief and the countless hugs we’ve needed but could not physically receive.