āYou can't keep the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair...ā - Walk Two Moons by Sharon CreechĀ
I remember exactly how my 4th grade classroom looked and felt. We lined up outside the courtyard door, put our backpacks along the the wall directly to the left, sat down in pods along the center of the room which faced the whiteboard, while my teacher, Ms. Wright, gathered her things from her desk in the back which sat up against the large window that looked across the parking lot and into my front yard. It was a cocoon of a place, filled with learning, failing, and growing.Ā
Looking back, I recognize Ms. Wright as the first person to lay any kind of prophecy to my life. She saw me struggle, work too quickly and miss things, sit next to boys who teased my studiousness, and she saw me keep going anyway.Ā
One day in early Spring, she asked me to hold off from joining the PE line. Another adult would walk the other 25 kids to the gym, while she showed me something. Thinking I was in trouble, I quickly wracked my brain for any evidence of wrongdoing over the last 24 hours. Pleading with myself to come up with some kind of apology for a behavior that hadnāt happened yet. While I slowly approached her desk, I kept my eyes out the window, holding my gaze towards my front door less than 500 yards away. āDonāt run, just breathe,ā I kept telling myself. I had no reason to believe I was in trouble, Ms. Wright was a kind person. I just didnāt want to find out that I had disappointed her in some way.Shaking, from what I would later realize was my good friend, anxiety, I took a deep breath and reached her desk.Ā
Ms. Wright was magnificent. She ran a mile every day before school. Wore effortlessly cool jeans and tops every day. Her curly brown hair was big, but not too big, and sassy, but not too sassy. She taught me, āWhen in doubt, cross it outā. A writing technique that I still use this day and has helped me trust my gut more and more over the years. She showed me how to make math fun by ākarate choppingā numbers in a row to get to the median. Which I still act out whenever demonstrating median to someone else. And she always checked in on me, especially if she could see I was upset. She had high expectations, took learning very seriously, but gently eased us along the 4th grade path with magical care.Ā
I came to find out, Ms. Wright had kept me from PE class to show me my report card. This felt very sneaky. Report cards were to be mailed the next day and were to be seen by my parents first. But, there was something she wanted to tell me personally. It felt like a secret between friends, because she had written a comment just for me. She turned to her computer screen and read while I quietly cried.Ā
I donāt remember the exact words she wrote, but Iāll never forget the feeling. Ms. Wright understood me. She saw that I was shy, but had a loud voice. She knew I missed my old house, but that I also enjoyed walking to school from my new one. She knew I was independent, and that wanted to be good at everything. She knew I didnāt quite fit in with any particular group of kids, but that didnāt stop me from making friends. She knew I tried very hard and I cared very much. I never told her any of these things, she just saw it.Ā
She also somehow knew that with all these things, I was destined for good things. I was worthy of big things. And she was excited to see me grow into an imaginative young leader that would impact many lives through kindness and hard work.Ā
I read somewhere recently that one word of encouragement, said with kindness and hope, can change a personās future. Ms. Wright saw that I always had a lot on my mind, that I was always struggling with myself. She knew that that struggle probably wouldnāt change into the future. But she also knew that it could harness it and make it into something really good. For years on into the future, I would think about that day as I am doing now and remember I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to. Ms. Wright changed my future that day. And continues to do so even now.Ā
Who was your favorite teacher growing up? Did they ever tell you something special?
Today marks 10/100 days of my #100dayproject of writing and sharing. Are you doing a project? Would love to hear all about it and keep up with ya. Leave the links below or DM me on instagram @karenleannkirsch or something!
