Happy Anniversary to Me

Hello, world, and welcome to another day of living in between.

Don’t worry: I won’t keep your time for long. After all, I’m short and sweet (and fat), so I guess my entries should be like me. Yeah, right. I’m not so sure about the sweet, but I will keep it short, seeing as I have more things to do before heading to work. Ok, ok, for you I'll keep it sweet.

Let’s take a trip down my memory lane...

Have you ever thought about good numbers and bad numbers? Thirteen is bad, yet I have a pretty cool sister born September 13th. I know everyone’s heard about “666.” Well, six can also be a good number—after all, I’m from a family of six kids.

With that said, I want to take a second and wish myself a happy anniversary. Today marks the very first day that I started in Adult Ed—in 2008, at the tender age of 21, though I would be 22 less than a month later. I feel that I’ve come a long way since then, and don’t aim as much for perfection in everything I do... at least, not to the point where I cry about it. I have a good Christian woman to thank for that—and the Big Guy for watching out for me, to keep me in line, and to keep me focused on my goals.

Before I started in Adult Education, the question posed to me was “Are you any good with people?” I will honestly tell you that I lied about the answer to this. Me? People? Does that include more than breathing around them? I was a work study student in the library at the time. We hardly had any visitors, which gave me time to read books of my own, but not to socialize. In a group of students, I was the quiet one who sat in the front because “Daddy said so,” who couldn’t even understand what my teachers were saying because I feared they’d ask me a question. I ran off to a book to acquire knowledge. In truth, people scared me. Any good with people? No way.

Shortly after that phone call, I met a small, energetic woman. She concluded our first conversation with the statement that I would be “thrown to the wolves.” All I could think about was the literal. It’s funny because, now, I love being thrown, whisked away into a handful of different things, to wear many different hats. I’ve also come to love this woman, who inspires me in many ways—some she knows, others she doesn’t. Through her, I found a connection to people, to traits of high value, and workplace morals—as well as workplace pride.

Along the way, I have met some pretty interesting folks. They have all inspired me and helped me grow, whether it be with my poetry, my skills with presentations, or getting up in front of the class to share my knowledge. I hope that I've done the same for them, because they have given my life so much color, so much love, and so much change. 

Speaking of change, the most fascinating change came through another avenue... with people that were more than "just people," but students. I love each one of them, with a love many can't understand. After all, there's no (prepare for a Steve Perry moment) “touchin’, squeezin’.” There’s something special when you see the light in another’s eyes, and know you opened a door in their brain. Some of them let you into their lives, if you talk to them, and give them a few shades of your own.

With all of that said, I want to be a teacher. For this reason, I must end this blog to study the SAT math. I need to pull my scores up 70 points—more than just for me, but for “the people.”