Nicole

That thought isn’t helpful right now.

Now is not the time to think about it. I can think about it later.

This is irrational. I’m going to let it go.

I won’t argue with an irrational thought.

This is not an emergency. I can slow down and think clearly about what I need.

This feels threatening and urgent, but it really isn’t.

I don’t have to be perfect to be OK.

I don’t have to figure out this question. The best thing to do is just drop it.

It’s OK to make mistakes.

I already know from my past experiences that these fears are irrational.

I have to take risks in order to be free. I’m willing to take this risk.

It’s OK that I just had that thought/image, and it doesn’t mean anything. I don’t have to pay attention to it.

I’m ready to move on now.

I can handle being wrong.

I don’t have to suffer like this. I deserve to feel comfortable.

That’s not my responsibility.

That’s not my problem.

I’ve done the best I can.

Puts others at ease. Something scary happens and you just go “oh well that’s not my favorite.” And then everyone around you knows it’s Okay.

Can calm a bad situation. I’m not talking about telling people to “calm down” or downplaying a serious moment, but when somebody has a freak out because they’re really angry or sad you can just be like “wow, bro, I can tell that this sucks a lot for you. I’m sorry about that. I’m willing to be chillin here with you until you feel safe to be chillin to.”

Builds relationships. I have gotten better at approaching people and saying “hey there, I just wanted to chat about how your behavior earlier was kind of un-bodacious of you and I was not loving it.” And usually people are receptive to that much more than to passive-aggression (or active aggression).

Makes me think. Being Chillin is not automatic. Sometimes I wanna freak out too. But Being Chillin puts me in a mindset to find solutions or at least see a way forward.

This is especially frustrating because the only reason we know the wind speed is because NOAA's Hurricane Hunters literally fly into the hurricane and collect vital data. They fly in and out of the storm over and over in 8 hour shifts.

This brave team flies two identical Lockheed P3s called Kermit and Miss Piggy.

You can see the dangling ornaments in the videos to determine which plane they are in.

And when I say they fly into the hurricane, I mean they fly *into* the hurricane.

Here they are in the eye of Milton.

And here they are in the eye of Irma.

As you may notice, this flight was in Kermit.

So the next time you see live data about a hurricane's wind speed and pressure, just remember how that was collected and don't be a giant turd about it.

And please vote because conservatives want to kill NOAA.

One of the activities that the instructor recommends is going back through your photos and picking a handful for critique---since if it rains, the class will be stuck indoors. And honestly, going back through my archives is....strangely heartening? I do take nice photos. The fact that I've taken just a handful in the six years I've had this camera is less important---I have photos I wouldn't mind showing someone who does this professionally!

And if I look at them and mostly see what was happening outside of the frame...well, that's my own business.