The Art of Overthinking 🌱

By Kathleen Lor

Welcome to a column about being stuck in a slump. Whether it be art or work-related, we’ve all experienced burnout. You may be reading hoping for some tips and tricks, but heck, I don’t even know myself.

Writing from a more pessimistic lens about the frustration and guilt that rises from not being productive or creative, may you find comfort in knowing that at least you’re not publicly airing it out. 

I wanted my first article to be a seamless introduction encompassing all my hopes for the column (cue the countless moments of contemplation here). However, I couldn’t think of anything satisfying enough, only to realize such perfection does not fit with the theme! I was erasing old ideas and penciling in new ones; I told the chief editor I finished days ago, but here I am currently sketching out a new piece titled “The Art of Overthinking.” 

Overthinking isn’t necessarily bad until it consumes your entire being. Think little, people. This past year, I thought too much about my role as an ALT. How should I act? What should I do? I had a particularly difficult elementary school and disciplining the kids led to my mental decay. Breaking the stereotype of a genki ALT made me sad and upset because, quite frankly, JET doesn’t prepare you for these scenarios. We’re taught that class management is the responsibility of the JTE and HRT, and our main purpose is to bring fun cultural exchange. But what do you do when your teacher can’t control the class? 

You cannot expect change to come immediately. As much as I would’ve loved to, I couldn’t bend the students’ will to obey class rules. My teachers, schools, and supervisors knew of my situation, but not much was done to help with my environment. “Do it for the kids” was the repeated motif. It becomes easy to think ALTs are not prioritized, the bottom rung of the ladder (though the statement holds some truth).

But change begins within oneself. Overthinking about past situations out of my control did me no good. Controlling how I responded to the stress made me better. I had put “strict ALT” and “fun ALT” in two separate boxes. However, the best teachers are ones who are strict and fun. I learned a lot (maybe I’ll write more in a different article). Diverting away from the typical ALT does not make me less than. It makes me more than. Don’t confine yourself to the image JET places on you almost immediately at orientation. Paint a new picture of what an ALT means to you. 

And remember: think little.