Suddenly

Tracy and the kids!

I was talking to my sister, Tracy, about change.

We came to the conclusion that once change occurs, it always seems like it happened suddenly.

For instance, it seems like it was not that long ago when Tracy and I were playing paper dolls, visiting each other at the respective universities that we attended, talking on the phone to each other whenever we felt like it once we were grown. (I'm not sure if we are grown yet.) And, Suddenly things changed....

Tracy met Rex and along came these three kids who are old enough to talk, bathe themselves, have opinions etc. (How and when did this happen?)

Recently, I flew to Atlanta, and Tracy and her family, mom, and I drove to Alabama. The entire time I was thinking: "How in the world did we get to this point; who are these kids and husband, and how did they get here?"

Tracy went into Subway to get the kids something to eat, and she knew what every kid wanted without them telling her. I was thinking: "Tracy is grown with kids, and she even knows what they want." When in the world did this happen, and it sure seems to have happened suddenly?

Tracy and I discussed this, and she said that sometimes she looks at her kids and think, "How and when did they get here." (Yes, she loves being with them but....Whose kids are those?)

And, that's the beauty of God... When we get what we want, it always seems like it happened suddenly. It's like he plays tricks with our minds, and we can barely remember when we were doing our parts and waiting for him to manifest our desires.

Do you remember when I injured my knee cycling? Well, I did not ride my bike for awhile, and whenever I would go to the gym, I would only do upper body work. However, suddenly, my knee pain was gone and I was running stairs again, doing squats etc. (It almost seems like some type of miracle.)

I know that you have similar stories... One day you woke up and had the job of your dreams, the spouse of your dreams, the life of your dreams suddenly.

I've been reminding myself to not complain on my journey, because when things change, and they do change, they change suddenly.

Thanking God, Today, for Sudden Change...Even when the change may appear to not be good!

Welcome To Today!!

Today, I walked into this nine day class that I am teaching, and I told the students that we would be talking about the essay, and you should have seen the displeasure that was all over their bodies. I realized at this moment that I was going to need to work on changing their thoughts about writing before we could actually start the writing process.

And, that is how it is with most things! We must, according to The Bible, "renew our minds" before any change can take place.

You know those people who want to run, but they tell themselves that they are not runners; therefore, they will never be runners because of their minds and not their bodies. They will  never be a runner until they "renew their mind." Or the people who are miserable or uncomfortable in their current job, but they believe that this is how everyone lives, or they believe that we are in a recession and there are no jobs. Therefore, they will never get a new job unless they "renew their minds" first.

I believe in change so much, I have written several blogs about Change!

Now, don't even let me deceive you into thinking that change is easy, because it is not. Our bodies and minds love comfort, even comfort that is bad for us. However, change starts in the mind, and the more knowledge that we get on whatever we want to change, the changes that we want or need to make can happen for sure, but it starts in the mind.

"Write the Vision and Make it Plain!"

For instance, when I first started working out with Berhane, the greatest trainer in the world, I did not see any chances in my body at all. I was doing some crazy workouts with him in the blazing sun three days a week, and I was running and doing other exercises on my own, and my body was not changing AT ALL! However, Berhane had to help me to "renew my mind" in order for me to see results. However, once I changed my mind, the rest is history. Change starts in the mind first......

Bear with me for a minute, I am heavily relying on my memory....

Quite a few years back, I use to read this short story with my students by Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. King, and I can not remember the title. Anyway, in that story, Coretta talks about how Dr. King was not sure if he should get involved with the Civil Rights Movement, because he was not sure if it aligned with Godly principles. She stated that after much prayer and thought, he nervously knew that being part of the Civil Rights Movement is what he had to do. Dr. King had to "renew his mind" in order to change this thoughts and lead one of the greatest movements of all time. I don't know about you, but I am happy that Dr. King saw fit to change his thoughts, which changed his actions, which changed our lives.

I know people "who do the same things all of the time and expect different results." Now, isn't that the definition of insanity? I am not calling anyone that I know insane, BUT.......

However, TODAY just might be your day and my day....We can change our tone of voice, our bodies, our jobs, our outlook on life, our perpetual lateness, our desire to always have the last word, the way that we treat people, our financial state, our living conditions, our passiveness, our negative thoughts, but we must renew our minds first by seeking knowledge.

My dear friend T.Smith, who is turning 40 today, asked me to do this 40 day journey where we will read a different quote every day for forty days, write our thoughts about the quote, and mediate on it. Well, when I read  about the program, and the first day assignment, my mind and body rejected the ideas, and I was going to call him to tell him that I was not going to do it. However, I thought about it and went back and read the Day 1 assignment, and I realized that I was rejecting the quote and the program, because it goes against some of the things that are are deeply rooted in me that I was not even aware of, but they are thoughts that I need to change. So, once I "renewed my mind" by going into deep thought about the principles and getting knowledge, I am ready for that 40 day journey, but the change had to take place in my mind first.....

So, today is your day....If what you are doing in your life is working for you, keep doing! if it ain't working for you, Today just might be your day.....

Feel Free to Change!

Welcome to Today....

Change

My readers, thank you so much for patiently reading while I sort through feeling some kind of way.

I realize that some of my feeling some kind of way has to do with preparations to end this school and start a new year. Yep, we are ending one school year and already making plans for next year.

The students are completely over school by now, and I get it, because I feel the exact same way. But, I continuously remind them and myself that "we don't stop when we get tired; we stop when we are finished."

I've been teaching ninth graders for five years, and it is time to do something different. So, I have made it known, every since around September, that I no longer wanted to teach ninth graders. I am willing to teach any other grade except ninth.

I fondly remember loving to teach 10th and 11th graders in previous schools sooooooo,

I found out that I would be teaching 10th and AP English 12 next year, and I am both excited and nervous at the same time.

I guess you are asking why excited and nervous?

Well, let me tell you, I am excited, because I love change, but nervous because change, when I do not know the outcome, scares the s@#* out of me. However, that nervousness typically does not stop me from moving forward. Moving forward without knowing the outcome is called faith, and I have a whole lot of that.

I've been teaching AP English 12th for three years, and I am more than good with that, but now instead of one AP class, I will be teaching two: double the work.... I never shy away from work, but I am nervous about all of those essays that I WILL grade. I will use every moment at work wisely, I do that now.... but, I am still a little nervous about the work load.

I have not taught 10th grade in the district where I currently teach EVER. I will need to read many, many, many novels this summer to determine which ones I will teach to my students, and I will also need to figure out what is important in the novels and think of strategies to convey the importance to my students. I'm excited but also nervous.

To be honest, I have gotten very comfortable in my current situation at my school, and who does not like being comfortable? But, sometimes, we must make a change in order to grow.

Next school year is also the year where I will have formal observations to make sure that I am still an awesome teacher, and I know that I will be great, but I am still a little nervous about teaching a new grade and getting evaluated. I will have to continuously tell myself, throughout the year, that I am a good teacher. (Yep, sometimes I still have self doubt about teaching, and I must replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts!)

Now that I am getting to the root of feeling some kind of way, I sure am feeling better.

Thanks again for allowing me to sort through my feelings.....

The Kite Runner AGAIN!!

In preparation to write this post, I went back and read another post that I wrote almost exactly one year ago about The Kite Runner, and all that I can say is that "people do change and grow."

This is my third year teaching The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I went back and forth trying to decide whether or not I was going to teach this book this year. I remember the last time I read it, I was thinking that it was just a good book but not necessary on my list of books that I really wanted to experience with my students again. However, after polling my class, I realized that quite a few of students had never read this book before, so I decided to give it a try again. And, I am so happy that I did.

This time around I really thought about what makes people good or not so good and the idea of redemption.

Amir, one of the main characters, really mistreated Hassan, who was the child of his servant. He mistreated him mainly because Amir's father was not giving him the attention that he desired. Also, Amir felt that his father really respected Hassan, and he was quite jealous of that. So, being a child, he took his frustration out on Hassan.

In class, we have been having the most lively discussion about the idea of whether or not Amir was a "bad person" because of the way that he treated Hassan when they were mere children. The class and I have been all over the place with this discussion. I am thinking today that humans want to feel accepted and that children, and even adults, will sometimes do whatever it takes to be or feel accepted. Amir did not know how to tell his dad what he needed, and maybe his Dad was "doing the best that he knew how to do." (If only parenting and children came with handbooks.)

I also thought about religion, and God, and discrimination, and living in Afghanistan and America......

This book really helps to generates lots of thoughts!

Next week, my students will do student-lead discussion on some of the themes in The Kite Runner: choices, guilt, father and son relationships, fear etc.

I am looking forward to the discussions, because this time around, unlike the last time, I do believe that this is well-written book that gives the reader so many things to ponder. (People do change!)

The Kite Runner is a little sad and also a heavy book, so why don't you read it after the holidays and tell me what you think?

Next, I am reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Please, get a copy, and join me in reading it?

Reading is so much fun when others are reading the same book with me. I guess that's one of the reason why I love teaching literature; I have a whole bunch of people reading the same book that I am reading at the same time.

Read a book and change your thoughts.