Another Day

You ever have one of those mornings where everything just seems to come to a head? When your world seems to come crashing down and despair sets in. Well, today was one of those days. I thought everything was o.k…that I had everything under control. But I didn’t.
I was my typical “loud” self and I made an idiot of myself in my principal’s office. I had a complete meltdown with one of my best friends, while I was trying to wish her a happy birthday. I was crying (the kind of crying that makes your face red and ugly), and every time a person would ask me if I was o.k.? it just got worse. And then, I had to go teach my first hour.
Isn’t it amazing how your students can change your mood completely? The moment I started to greet them at the door, ugly face and all, I started to feel better. I know that most of them were uncomfortable seeing their teacher in distress, but they put on a happy face, which in turn helped me do the same. As the class continued, we did our normal routine, but I felt so much better being in their company. Today, I was amazed at how dependent I was on them.

When I meet new people and they ask me what I do, they are always in admiration because I work with teenagers. They say “you must have a lot of patience”, but sadly, they don’t see the flip side. They don’t see all of the benefits I reap from working with young people.
They don’t see how much I admire my students’ everyday. Whether it is watching my reading kids fly through books or my honors kids making in-depth connections with text. My writing kids taking risks and writing very personal essays that I have the privilege to read or my leadership kids giving so graciously to others.

I have the best job. I get to come everyday, work with people I love, and see teenagers grow and learn unlike any other members of the population. Of course this sounds idealistic (yes, I am leaving out all of the thorns in my side), but after the morning that I have had, I am truly lucky to be a High School Teacher.