At a conference about the human side of technology, we thought a hefty dose of humans being real might be the only patch that actually works. We're two Doctors of Education — one in year two at sixty-three, one in year ten at thirty-three; one hearing, one Deaf; one in community college business, one in K–12 deaf education. On a hike, we asked each other an honest question: what actually helped us survive this year? Not the polished case studies. Not the boring platitudes. Not the wellness mantras. The real list — including AI as a 3:00 AM insomnia buddy (because good luck finding a therapist), hikes long enough to make our knees a louder problem than our jobs, and the things we'll only tell you in the room. Come for the confessions. Stay for the tips and the funny, off-syllabus coping mechanisms that got us through K-20 in one piece.
