Have you ever seen the meme that compares two pictures of what teaching should be like and what teaching feels like? The first picture features a serene, smiling teacher with long blond hair showing a grinning, completely clean child how to use a pencil.

The second picture shows a scene from "Jurassic World", in which Chris Pratt’s character is trying to tame raptors that are slowly surrounding him. I’m sure you can tell which picture is what teaching actually feels like.

I began my first year of teaching kindergarten this August, and I had no idea how exhausting it would be. I love seeing the kids’ smiling faces in the morning, and I adore the moments when they get a question right and they cheer.

I’m always surprised by the random things they say. (This week one student put her hands on my stomach and told me that she wanted to take everything out of me and put it into her. How do you even respond to that?)

But keep in mind: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I’ve seen fits and tears, shredded crafts and hurt feelings. And those moments have the power to wipe out my energy almost completely.

Maybe it’s because I’m new at teaching, but for my first week I came home and took a four to five-hour nap every day. By the time I woke up, I was just as tired as when I started.

I’m in my fourth week of teaching now (go, team!). If there’s anything this past month has taught me, it’s that I need to take the time to rest. I’m not talking about napping (although I do really enjoy a nice afternoon snooze). I’m talking about the kind of activity (or lack thereof) that sets your soul at ease.

For me, this has always been reading. Few things can beat a quiet afternoon at the bookstore, at home, at the library or the coffee shop with a new hardback or a well-loved paperback in my hands.

When I was a student, the bookstore in town was my refuge. I relished the symphony of hushed tones, accompanied by coffee brewing and pages turning. Having the time to myself to find new worlds, encounter new characters, and go on adventures brought me to a place where I could forget, or at least nudge aside, my worries for a while.

Especially when I was in college, people would always ask me how I found so much time to read. With so much academic reading filling up our time as students, it was easy to understand why people would consider more reading a chore. But my answer always was, “It’s what I love to do.”

Here’s my point: give yourself a break, and rest well. Find that space that you tuck into, that corner of the world that’s yours and feels utterly right. That might be a soccer field, it might be a library. You might be happiest with a paintbrush in your hands, your heart might beat in time with a metronome.

I’m still learning that having rest and taking time apart from the chaos not only heals my heart, but it prepares me to take on the next day. When I am at peace and doing what I love, it carries over into my work. So I encourage you to take some time and refresh. The rest is worth it.