It's a busy season, the world is crazy, I'm tired...I've got lots fo excuses. But instead of why I haven't written, I'd rather focus on why I'm writing.
It's mid-March and the end of the year seems to be just around the corner, which means it's time for Senior Departure Seminar. This has long been one of my favorite weekends of the year. In a "normal" year, we travel to Beijing with students from our schools around China and prepare together for these soon to be graduates to leave well. We talk through all sorts of things and get ready for what is next. One of the hardest but most important parts of this time, in my opinion, is the school affirmations.
We stand in a line/circle/oval thing and then pair up with the person across from us and spend a minute or two affirming them. We say why they're important. We say why we value them. We say what's on our hearts.
To be honest, it's always a bit awkward. Some you know well, some you have never spoken to...we embrace the awkward and lean in, though.
For some reason after we finished these affirmations today, I had the need to debrief the activity with the students. We talked about what was hard about it and what was good about it.
And I realized something, thanks to these amazing students, that I had never realized before:
When we receive multiple affirmations in a row, there are generally themes. And those themes? They are often a reflection of our gifts.
What a gift this revelation was to me today.
I've got to be honest, in the busyness of the tasks of the school year, I sometimes forget why I do what I do.
I forget that I started out as a teacher, helping students learn and grow in a specific subject area (or in multiple subjects as a classroom teacher).
I forget the lasting impact of hard conversations with students who are struggling.
I forget the long memories of students who remember the teachers who took the time to love them through their learning process.
Today, they didn't let me forget.
They talked about back in middle school when they were a "bad student" and I was willing to slow down and go step by step to help them with what they didn't understand.
They talked about feeling nervous at school but feeling safe in my classroom.
They talked about knowing I must be busy but being thankful that I always had time to help them solve a problem.
They talked about my dedication to our students and school.
They talked about my love for them.
And I had forgotten.
Friends, I was made to work with students.
I was made to dive in and dive deep and lend a hand.
I was made to share stories and live memories with people in their awkward middle years.
I know it will look different in different seasons, that what I have with the students I have right now, as someone who taught them and then became their principal, is rare and precious and won't happen again. I know that I am in a beautiful sweet spot and I should enjoy it. And I intend to.
What a gift.
Hey do me a favor...go affirm someone you care for. Tell them why they're special. Tell them what impact they've had on you. Who knows what impact it could have. It might remind them what they were made for.
And me? I was made for this.
