last november i found out that i’d been accepted to teach for america and would be teaching secondary english in los angeles. 12 months later i find myself in a 10th grade classroom every day with 124 students who i love more than life itself. yes, they annoy me sometimes. they drive me crazy when they don’t turn in work or won’t shut up in class or when they get an attitude with me. they make me sad when they say they’d love to go to college to be a teacher or a doctor or a writer, but they don’t think they’re smart enough so they’ll just get a job instead. they make me want to strangle them when they say the reason they didn’t do their homework is because they’re lazy (at least they’re honest, i suppose).
but then. on other days.
they come in my room and use words like “avaricious” and “disapprobation” and “petulant” and “propriety.”
they turn in their assignments early so i can help them make revisions.
they come in during lunch to make up tests and quizzes.
they stay after to get tutoring.
they tell me that book club is their favorite time of the week.
they write me letters telling me that they want to write novels and asking me to help them publish them.
they text me to tell me happy thanksgiving.
they tell me they like my shoes.
they come early to running practice so we have enough time to get in 4 miles before class.
they ask me if we can have a holocaust survivor come speak to the class.
they tell me they like writing now because they know how to do it better.
they inform me that the song i’m humming after class is actually very inappropriate and that no, the words are not toot a little booty (“so you should probably not sing that, mrs.”)
i’m very thankful for my students. they aren’t perfect and they wear me out. but i think they’re great.
i’m thankful for the other teachers with whom i work. i’m thankful to have colleagues who are dedicated to providing the best education possible to these kids and to making sure that they have the same prospects for college as students attending schools in more affluent areas. i’m thankful that i can always count on ashley to come visit at lunch and hinshaw to put things into perspective & make me laugh when the little buggers are giving me a hard time.
i’m thankful to be living in los angeles. where “cold” is fifty degrees and the rain very rarely makes an appearance.
i’m thankful for the church family God has led us to. realityLA is such a reflection of the biblical church and God has used it to shape and change and challenge us weekly. i’m thankful for our community group and the relationships that are forming there.
i’m thankful that i’m almost finished with my first semester of grad school. so thankful. 1 down, 3 to go….
i’m thankful for our ballin apartment and the bomb christmas tree that is currently standing in the corner, taking up half the living room.
i’m thankful for a husband who encourages me and supports me in what Christ has called me to do, even when it means less time we get to spend together. i’m thankful for the time that we do get to spend together and that we’re in a city where there’s so much to do.
i’m thankful that my best friend is coming to visit on thursday and that she is not only willing, but is as excited as i am to go stalk celebrities in hollywood. (there will be a purchasing of a star map)
i’m thankful for parents who bought us CELTICS TICKETS for christmas.
i’m thankful for a brother who is a genius and got accepted into UVA law school. (and who’s coming to visit for new years in LA woooo)
i’m thankful for skype so bran and i could talk to family on thanksgiving.
i’m thankful for a brother-in-law who just got engaged and thankful that he picked out a great first sister for me to have.
i’m thankful for a God who loves me so much to pour out these blessings on me when i do not deserve it. i’m thankful that i am justified through Him and that despite the pressures on me everyday from work and school and TFA, that i do NOT have to prove myself to anyone because i am already enough, in Him. i’m thankful that Jesus was the best teacher who ever lived so that He can guide me every day in the classroom. i’m thankful that He is the source of all wisdom, love, patience, strength, and truth so that He can enable me to teach these students well. i’m thankful that He is faithful despite my shortcomings and failures, and that He wants to use me anyways. i’m thankful that He’s with me every single day as I enter my classroom and that He knows exactly what I need in any given moment and that He is fully capable of meeting that exact need in that exact moment.
last november i found out i’d been accepted to TFA and would be moving to LA to teach secondary English. i could have never imagined what i was getting myself into. nor could i have imagined how incredible the experience would be. this is the hardest thing i have ever done. i’ve never felt so tired, so stressed, so (at certain times) hopeless, so inadequate, so pressured, so challenged, so sleep-deprived, so small in a world where i feel like i am constantly fighting the system. i complain a lot and get caught up in the small little things that frustrate me rather than rejoicing in the blessings He has given me. but i do love what I’m doing. i really really do. thanks, Jesus. this is all because of You.
(lastly, i’m thankful that on this thanksgiving weekend, carolina was able to destroy clemson. gamecocks, you have brought joy all the way the west coast today. well done.)
