52:7 | Heartbeat

Metadata: f/4.5, 1/50 sec, ISO 400

Happy Valentines Day! :o) Reflecting this week on the things that I love and adore about my life (my family, my friends, my job, my faith...), I was reminded today about what it means to truly love. I fight a battle with myself when I think of all the goals my students are reaching for - and I can't help but think that every move that I make has an effect on whether or not they are learning to succeed. But today I had a moment (or 20...) with one of my students that reminded me to just settle down and listen. What my students need more than anything to reach their goals.... is someone to listen and teach them how to hear what really makes them tick. 

I also learned (from a long-time HS friend) that the opposite of fear is not courage... but love. In the last 7 months I'm confident that I have gone the gamut of feelings. Stressed doesn't even begin to touch the surface of the emotions that I've experienced. Fear was at the root of all the "downs" & love the foundation for all the "ups". I work with some of the most talented, inspiring, and unbelievably intelligent educators in the country. They walk in the door and fight the same battles I fight with my students - and they are constantly teaching me how to do it better (whatever that "it" happens to be that day). We've had one helluvah year. I watch the conversations they have with each student and though the words may change, the sound remains the same: they say "I love you, I care about you, You are important" (Some actually do, in fact, say this aloud to them... and sometimes it really is just under the surface). 

After sitting with my student this afternoon, and watching several exchanges on my way out the door before a 4-day-weekend, it clicked. I cannot change everything - but I can change the way they see themselves. They may be off the wall, manipulative, anxious, and emotional (u-n-d-e-r-s-t-a-t-e-m-e-n-t) but what they're looking for is one word. Love-dub. Love-dub. :o)