This Little Light of Mine..

My personality. Let’s just say God got a little distracted and poured a little heavy that day. I am just a people person and pleaser. I just naturally love people. I love their stories, the way they are different, their beliefs-- people, the more I meet and interact with the better. When I compare others, I don’t do it out of spite or to make someone look better than the other- it is simply, unapologetically who they are. For example, I am a “Go Big or Go Home” kind of gal. You give me a little project and I have to make it the most huge, extravagant thing they have ever seen. Will it make me exhausted, and tired? Probably. But the second I get a “WOW” or a “I cannot believe how amazing this is,” my bucket is instantly refilled. I just blame this on my middle kid syndrome. I’ll do anything for tiniest acknowledgement. When you put me in charge of an event - you can expect the whole school to look like a pep rally is about to happen, someone is coming in to observe my teaching from another school - my lesson better be the most elaborate thing they have ever seen, they want me to help with job fair - well were taking a canopy tent, hanging pictures from string, there will be cupcakes, and curtains so were unforgettable, we are organizing a school lip sync- oh then we need costumes and I need to paint a 6 foot by 6 foot tie dye slug bug so we can dance to car wash- considerate all of it done. I am notorious for taking something small and blowing it up into something huge! Some people get embarrassed by my go big nature, but I think Dr. Seuss said it best, “Why fit in when you were born to stand out.” I know quoting Dr. Seuss is kind of corny - but I find it to be so true in my case. My mom used to tell me the song “This Little Light of Mine” was wrote about me. The irony is now sometimes I have to sing this to myself to remind myself that although some appreciate my efforts, unfortunately some cast shade. But- “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let is shine.” I cannot stop shining because it might make others uncomfortable or maybe because they think I am trying to out do them - it is definitely not intentional but if I expect the best out of my students then I have to continue to expect and accept only the best from myself.

Maybe a more respectable reference is due. (Sorry Dr. Suess and Mom)

Adam Welcome and Todd Nesloney got it right! They started off their book Kids Deserve It with the perfect first chapter- “Go Big, Be Creative!” This is my favorite chapter because it is totally me. They ask, “Will you leap?” For me that answer is always- “Yes, and can I wear a costume with a glitter covered cape?”

To people who are afraid to leap, I would first answer this-  is this what is best for my kids? If that answer is, “YES!” -then leap, leap as high and far as you can! Creativity takes practice, execution of a craft takes time and effort. Do I think it is always going to work out? No. But I’m willing to go down swinging until I’ve exhausted every option, and then I reflect and come back bigger and better. Don’t cast a shadow on the “Go-big-or-go-home” people. Get in there and push yourself to be bigger and better, too. -and if you fail? Honestly, who cares- we all fail and you should get up and leap again!

Push THAT to the Top of the List

As I sit here and get all jazzed up about writing my next blog post I cannot help but feel guilty. I should be spending my Friday off working on my Master’s homework, planning my STAAR (state test) review out for the next month, trying to finish my #HyperDocs for student badge challenges, maybe some laundry, or battling the mall for my daughter’s Easter dress. Instead here I sit; tap, tap, tapping away on my keyboard. I have to ask myself why did I decide to push writing a blog post to the top of the list instead of trying to accomplish some of the tasks I need to get done first? I personally prioritized my blog to the top because it interested me, it gives me time to decompress my thought, and more importantly gives me a chance relate to other educators.

Then I began to think, how do I gain a mindset that allows me to personally prioritize even the things I purposely push to the bottom of the list. Something I need to get better at is rewarding myself with personal priorities that interest me- approaching them as rewards or bonuses. Maybe the way to go at it is -okay, if I fold the laundry and complete one piece of the HyperDoc then I can write my blog post. If I could just change this mindset I could become more productive and accomplish more of my ever-growing to-do list.

I notice that I tend to give 100% of my energy while I am in the classroom and unfortunately for my family when I get home I try to muscle out anything I have left- sadly it is usually just the fumes. Balancing work and home is so hard for me. I am sure there are other educators who totally feel like this. When my last student gets picked up at 4, I return to my classroom to someone waiting who wants help, or maybe a coworker wants to talk about the day and how we plan to make tomorrow better. When I am finally alone to get things done- I need to rush out the door to head to daycare to pick up my daughter before they close. I feel like I could stay at work working until 10PM and I would leave still having tons to get done. This is mainly my fault because I cannot do anything half assed. I start with this really little idea and then have to blow it up into a huge extravagant event.

Again this is extra added personal priorities only brought on by myself. In my journey to make my priorities less like a Plinko board, I am going to attempt to keep the goal of an empty completed to-do list in my sights.