When The Going Gets Tough.....

My pathway to teaching has been simultaneously amazing and overwhelming.   It’s been about a month since I officially began my journey as a student teacher.  The classroom has always been my comfort zone but right now, I seem to be stuck in the “I’m scared” part of the journey.  I have waited so long to impact the world as teacher that I’m afraid to make a mistake.

 Last week I shared this “I’m scared” feeling with a mentor hoping she’d share her wisdom.  My mentors never let me down.  She suggested that I take tangible items to school that remind me of the people who inspire me.  “Hold onto them when the nervous butterflies won’t go away, she said.

 As a junior in high school I was invited to share my story of overcoming obstacles in the classroom (and my dream of becoming a teacher) with a group of middle school teachers.

My hosts gave me a gift bag. In the bag was a pin that represented their Jonsen’s Renaissance theme for the school year… “There’s No place Like Home “ Belhaven Renaissance I’ve pinned my Renaissance pin to  the  lanyard  that I wear each day.  It was attached to piece of paper that reads:

 Points to Ponder:

 WE HAVE TALLER BULDINGS but shorter tempers

WE HAVE MORE CONVINCES but less time

WE HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE but less judgment

WE HAVE FANCCIER HOUSES but broken home

WE CLEAN OUR AIR but pollute our souls

WE TRAVEL TO THE MOON but not to our neighbors

WE ADD YEARS TO OUR LIVES but not life to our years

Tomorrow I will take the lead in my classroom for the first time.   I need to be brave because teaching tomorrow means that WE beat the odds!  I consider   teaching with cerebral palsy a gift! Tomorrow (and each day) I CELEBRATE Renaissance!    I CELEBRATE courage and compassion.   This is a  story of people who care and that is what I remember when the going gets tough!