Dr. Arrastía-Chisholm: Professor Mom

Midterms are here and we get to pause and relax with spring break. But before the break, there is a mad dash to get everything taken care of. My students are taking their third exam right now on cognitive development and motivation. And I am almost finished reading Michele Obama's memoir, Becoming. The book is structured mostly chronologically beginning with a description of her childhood on the Southside of Chicago. She admitted that the public school teachers didn't always care and that resources at the schools were scarce at times. In hindsight, Michelle knows that she was fortunate enough to have a parent that advocated for her education and participated in the PTA. Her mother knew about the opportunities available and encouraged her academic success. Michelle described herself as an ambitious and competitive student from day one when her Kindergarten teacher tested her class on sight words. She misspelled white and demanded a retest the next day. She was determined and exc...

On my commute to work each day, I pass by not one but two donut shops. I'm not talking about Krispy Kreme or Dunkin. These are two distinctly homemade donut shops - one in Thomasville, called  Nanee's Donut Hole  and the other in Valdosta, called  Dixie Cream Donut Shop . Each morning I have to fight the urge to stop in and buy a donut, not once but twice on my way into work. Often I think that if I stop in and buy a box of donuts for my students that it is in some way more altruistic and maybe that will pardon the unhealthy decision. The truth is that many of my students don't eat sweets. It seems that college students are a lot more  health conscious  than they used to be. Whereas, I remember eating just about anything that was free on campus as a student, some of my students routinely decline the free pop tarts the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministry) hands out every Wednesday. But I digress... Back to the donuts... Nanee's has a few specialities that can't go unm...

This week is the last week before the spring semester begins at Valdosta State University (VSU). Before the whirlwind of classes and advising begins, I wanted to first inform readers about the motivation for this blog and to update you on my goals  so far... Motivation.  Although she may not know this, Kathe Lowney, has been one of my mentors during my time as an assistant professor. She is the catalyst that initially encouraged me to write this blog. We are both writing a post a week for 52 weeks. Find her blog about teaching here . Although Kathe is now retired, she is still affecting my professional and personal development! Thanks, Kathe! Health. The team-based weight loss program I have joined officially started this week. It was unfortunate timing because did my first weigh in right after running 7 miles in a race... Here is a photo of me taken by Herb Wills, a Tallahassee running legend now photographer and blogger . It was towards the end and I was straight up walk...

Health, Wealth, and Happiness. These are three common wishes in the English language to use at New Year's. And these are the goals that I set out to achieve as a professormom who always "has a lot going on." Updates about these goals, parenting, teaching, and scholarship will be the content for this new blog. Thank you for reading. Health . In terms of health, I have signed up with my local YMCA  for Team Lean, a team-based accountability system. If you know me, then you know that I love physical activity already. The 8-week long challenge will push me to do better when making choices about what and how much to eat. I am hoping that social media will provide the platform for the social support that I need from team members. If I can even get the 5% weight loss that these researchers suggest teammates can help you lose through support, I'll feel healthier. Additionally, I have set the goal to run more miles this year. Specifically, I would like to double my mileage ...