What It’s All About…

Well…it’s Christmas Break ‘08.  I love that I’ve been able to go through life with an annual Christmas break…as a student…now as a teacher.  School had been rough leading to the break.  I made it though and am now thoroughly enjoying doing a whole lot of “nothing.”

So, it’s been a rough go up to this point in the school year.  For the first time in my career…I began to question whether or not it was worth it.  I love teaching…love working with kids…love impacting lives…but the job had become insanely stressful in ways I had never experienced.  This uncovered a question that I should always keep around, regardless of the good or bad in things.  “What is it all about?” 

What is the “it” I’m referring to?  You could call it life, career…whatever it is that you’re doing at this point in life.  If I can answer this question…I’m good and need to continue doing what I’m doing.  If I can’t answer this question…well…I should probably move on to something else right? 

I received what I could call one of the best presents that a student has ever given me.  I’ve felt that I wasn’t impacting my kids like I thought I could due to the way things are going.  Then…as I was in the hallway before school last week, I got a card and a picture.  The card was homemade that said…

“I hope you have the best Christmas!!!  You’re the best teacher ever!!!  Love,…”

As you can see, there’s a lot of emphasis on the “!” which is funny because the exclamation point is something that they learned about this year.  Included with the card was the picture above.  As you can see, it’s a the student and myself…with spiky hair included. 

This right here is what it’s all about.  Impacting a kid in a way that they would give you a gift, even if they didn’t have the means to buy one.  What an encouragement…it almost brings tears to my eyes…almost. ;) 

So, even though it doesn’t seem like I’m making a big difference…it’s happening.  I can answer the question still…so I guess I’ll continue doing what I’m doing.