Class Dismissed
It’s that time of year again when my personality goes through it’s yearly spring cleaning. Ramadhan is around the corner (woo hoo!) and the pretty weather generally makes me overly reflective anyway - the perfect setting for loads of conversations and thoughts centering around how to be a better me from here on out.
And lately, there’s two things that I keep coming back to:
1. Investing in others (see the Arson post below) and
2. Appreciation.
My 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Britton was an amazing, amazing woman. I’ll spare you the details because I’m sure you have a ___ grade teacher just like her. And every year after I left junior high I told myself I would go back and visit her. Except I’d always have some sort of excuse to wait - “I want to graduate so I can say I have a degree when I see her” or “Let me land my first job so I don’t look like a loser and then I’ll go see her.” Or my latest excuse “well, what if she doesn’t remember me?” - that’ll keep me going for another decade or so.
Any and everything I could think of to wait one more summer. The sickening thing is that my junior high is walking distance from my house. In fact, every time I’m home I go for a run in the mornings - right past that junior high. And every time I run by it, I replay the excuse I have this season for not going back to visit her and tell her that I still think about her ALL THE TIME. If that’s not having an impact on someone, I don’t know what is. And she still doesn’t know.
And now, if you stalk me :) you know, I don’t live at my house any more. I don’t even know when I’ll be back in Chicago, much less in that neighborhood.
It’s been 13 years since she was my teacher and now, as I literally stand in her shoes, I realize how unbelievably valuable appreciating someone is. The first time I ever taught as a real life gig, I wanted to cry. Every morning, every afternoon, and every night as I sat grading 120 quizzes on a book that I don’t even remember the title of (something about a fox and the color red…), I wondered what the hell my students were getting out of my inexperience, impatience, and general lack of know-how.
On the last day of class, one of my 7th grade boys came up to me and said “Thank you for explaining that book - I didn’t understand it before but now I do and I really like the book. I’m glad you were our teacher.”
Simple, not so eloquent - but I could not have conjured up sweeter words if I tried. It gave me the encouragement that I needed to literally chase the career I’m about to embark on now. Imagine that - my 7th grade student encouraging me, his teacher.
Knowing how important those words of appreciation were in my life makes me feel even lamer that Mrs. Britton is still unaware of the fact that I’m tormented by my years of silent gratitude. Doesn’t really count if she doesn’t know right?
And so, Personality Spring Cleaning (PSC) action item #2: Appreciate those around you: teachers, friends, parents, lovers, enemies - if they’ve taught you something, if you’re better because them, speak up son!
Obviously, this is easier said than done, otherwise Mrs. B and I would be bff’s right now, trading best practices over coffee. So - what’s the deal with that? I have no qualms about setting someone straight when they’ve wronged me, why do I run like a wild bandit from saying something nice? Jeez.
Who knows, who cares. In true GOALS! fashion (if you don’t know what this is, we must have never spoken to each other in real life, in which case look it up: http://www.briantracy.com/catalog/product.aspx?pid=211&cid=18 ) I’m looking ahead and setting up a positive, present, and personal plan to make sure that I appreciate the people that have a positive impact on me (don’t laugh it works). Here’s the plan:
1. I voice/email/text my appreciative thoughts within 1 week of thinking them.
2. I consciously acknowledge and then put my ego aside when preparing to appreciate someone.
3. I remember and say a silent thank you to the people who have shown me the value of such words, every night.
…
Good stuff, right?
