Just Keep Running!

At some point during my student teaching experience my cooperating teacher compared becoming a teacher to running a marathon.    He said, “ Getting to the classroom can be hard and can sometimes take a while.”                The analogy made me smile because my sister is an avid runner.   Mom always considered it ironic that she had one  daughter who could run for days and one daughter  who was told she’d never walk.   In high school Lindsey was always recognized for being an accomplished runner and star student. These days she runs half marathons for fun.

 Each time Lindsey runs she sends me a picture of her at the finish line.  The first time she did this I asked Mom why sending me these pictures was   so important to Lindsey.  She responded with words that will forever be engraved in  my heart.  “She says it’s hard for her to explain but that she runs for you Julie!”    Lindsey’s point, she recognizes that it   might be physically difficult for me to run a marathon yet; she’s committed to honoring the strength she sees in me overcoming cerebral palsy!

In two weeks I’ll take my teaching test.   It’s just about that time in the studying process when I’m tired, overwhelmed, and extremely afraid that I might forget all the History I’ve ever learned!     As I turn another   corner in this marathon, I have to admit there have been many days when I wanted to stop running against fear and failure.   This is to say, sometimes, it feels like no matter what I do everyone is ahead of me.   It seems    like  few people  have to run the same distance as me. This feeling  can  get me stuck in   it’s not fair mode.      

  As I walked this morning I continued to reflect on my teaching journey.  My thoughts made me consider something that I was compelled to share.  What if coming in first place during this marathon is different than winning?   Yes, becoming a teacher has been harder and taken much longer than expected but I have grown so much and been supported by so many people!   So, while I’m nervous about turning this corner (Passing this test) I’m really filled with gratitude about how I’ve been overwhelmingly  encouraged to reach this goal.

   

 Honestly, it’s this life long encouragement that INSPIRED me to run toward teaching in the first place. In an earlier blog post, I wrote about the impact of the T.E.L.L  (Teach Encourage Listen Love) message on my life. I believe that people need encouragement but I also think we should all aim to be encouragers.   There is so much strength in running along side of someone as they strive to achieve their greatest goal.

 Keep running…. If you’re headed in the right direction, those who BELIEVE in you will be just around the bend!  

With a Grateful Heart,

Teacher Julie

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”   Martin Luther King 

A Teacher At Heart On FaceBook

Friends!

Students and teachers in Charlotte returned back to school this week.     The first week of school came with a flood of social media posts that ranged from finished fellow teachers classrooms to why we’re still dealing with race in our schools nearly 60 years after desegregation  / integration. (History Matters!)   As a teacher at heart (who is diligently preparing for her teaching exam) looking at social media this week was tough.

Nonetheless, I continued to post, like, and share what   spoke to my heart and hopefully, the hearts of others as always.  In the mix of my newsfeed, I found and shared a blog titled: As School Begins Please Teach Your Children About Disabilities.  The writer of the blog explained to readers what her journey with cerebral palsy was like until a teacher took time to explain her disability to her classmates.   The blog reminded me of the first time I shared my story of having cerebral palsy with my third grade class.  Let’s just say, I’ll never forget the boy who asked me if my children were going to have CP. My reaction…. How in the world am I supposed to know??!!   (CP isn’t genetic so, I can’t give my disability to my future kids.)  It also reminded me that I’ve always been a believer that sharing this story matters!  Moreover, part of the reason I continue down this long and winding road is so, that perhaps, people won’t have so many questions about how those with disabilities can  be positive difference makers! 

I keep scrolling the newsfeed and find a video of Playing For Others  (PFO) Buddy Program.  Playing for Others (PFO) is a non –profit with a mission to “ create a more compassionate world through the arts and service.” One way they do that is by pairing non – disabled and disabled buddies together to cultivate friendship.   In the video a PF0 teen with disability says something that is simple but is worth my echo:  Having a disability can be confusing and hard. ”---- I’m not sure if she meant for her as someone with a disability, the non- disabled teen or both. Regardless, her comments remind me that I’m not completely alone in uncertain feelings of how I’m really supposed to feel as a young woman with a disability.  Let’s face it sometimes, I struggle to know if teaching is really what I am meant to do because it’s been such a long winding, and bumpy road!  And then, there’s this thought that the only thing I’ve ever wanted is to be a schoolteacher!  I’m so close.  I can’t give up. I won’t give up! Nope. Here’s why   as I reach for my classroom; I strive to teach perseverance and love!

The scrolling is finished,  but Facebook has captured and kept my dearest memories.  So, I’m reminded of my first summer   UrbanPromiseCharlotte, a Christian youth ministry, and the very first place I ever felt like a teacher amongst all the uncertainty in my heart about this journey. The tangible experience that reminds me about the joys of teaching, learning, and becoming who you are!  (I posted that story as earlier blog.)

 As  a  teacher at heart, I definitely had  so much to say this week!     

Ps. we've had a ton of rain today as the hurricane  pushes out.   At least once,  it's been raining  but the sun is out.... A good way  to look at life sometimes don't you think!!