May 28, 2014
Dear Students,
This is one of
the hardest things I have ever had to write…other than those twenty some page
papers in college. I have been putting this off because writing this truly does
mean that my year with you is over. I know most teachers only get a year with
their students, unless you are blessed like Mr. Blake to have you all more;
however, everyone else will have the opportunity of watching you continue to
grow up and mature into the beautiful people that you are becoming. They will get
visits during lunch and free time, will get to attend sporting events and other
competitions and still remain connected in your lives if you choose for them
to, but for me, this is it. This is the day that I have been dreading for the
last several months since knowing I was not going to be returning. I want you
to know a couple of things.
1.) I am not leaving this position or moving
to Missouri because of anything you have done or said. It is everything you’ve
done and said and the wonderful teachers I have gotten to work with that have
almost made me regret my decision to leave every day because I know how much I
am going to miss you. The first year teaching is always a tough one and I thank
you for your joy, excitement, determination and forgiveness throughout this
crazy year. I truly could not have imagined a better group of students to
experience this with-you have prepared me so much for my job next year and have
given me the hope to one day return to teaching when the time is right.
2.) I will still continue to be here for you
if you choose for me to be. You can reach me through all the craziness of
social media-most of you have already found me so consider this an open
challenge come June 3. Many of you have had adults come into your life for a
season, the season that many of them were getting some kind of pay out for-only
to feel like they abandoned you as soon as they could. These people could have
been your parents, other teachers, coaches, youth leaders, mentors…whatever. But,
I’m not going to be one of those people. I don’t love each of you because it is
my job and I don’t want to know about your personal lives because I have to. I
want to be involved in your life and will continue to pray for you and remain
one of your biggest fans whether you like it or not. If you need someone, I
will be there.
3.) I am proud of and thankful for each and
every one of you. Some of you have been determined to prove that I hate you all
year long and I hope you realize that you have wasted your time. I don’t care
who you are…you have made this year one to remember. Each and every one of you
are leaving the seventh grade a better person than when you walked in. Many of
you came in barely doing any of the assignments and not being super competent
in all subjects, however, I have seen most of you make leaps towards success in
these areas. You are making steps towards maturity-taking personal
responsibility not only for mere assignments, but for your learning. You are
learning the balance between silliness and serious. You are daring to ask questions and seek a
deeper understanding of humanity and life around you. You you have grown in
confidence both in your abilities and in yourselves…confidence truly is key to
everything you will do. If you don’t believe in yourselves, you can’t expect
others to believe in you. Having confidence is the first step in doing
anything-your actions will follow your attitude.
4.) Respect authority. No matter where you
are or who you are, there is always going to be someone above you. Even if you
don’t like them or agree with them, they deserve your respect. Sometimes it is
hard, but it is necessary to bite your tongue and get down to business. Don’t
get me wrong, sometimes it is good to argue for what you believe in…but always
do it in a respectful tone. Don’t feel like you have to win every argument
because eventually you won’t. Know when to give in and step back in respect.
Respect doesn't mean you have to like the person-it simply means that you will speak positively and cooperate with them. It also never hurts to thank the
people above you for their work in your lives.
5.) Life is tough, get a helmet. Most of you
have learned this already and I apologize for any sad circumstances and tough
battles that you have had to fight. I would love to stand here as a 23-year-old
and tell you that it is only up from here, but the truth is…life is always
tough-you just have to find your reason to fight. You will experience love…and
broken hearts, hope and hopelessness. You will have moments of great accomplishment
and moments of shear disappointment. For some of you, you may fight to prove
everyone around you wrong. Some of you want to make a difference in the world.
Some of you want to do better or be better than your family. Others want to be
famous or make a lot of money. Whatever your reason, remember that and never
give up fighting for what you want out of life. People are going to get in your
face- tell you that you’re not good enough, that you can’t do it, that you’re
not smart enough, talented enough, beautiful enough, rich enough, that you
don’t come from the right background or school, that you don’t have enough
experience or that your past is just too much. Whatever other people say….remember
that the fight is worth it because you deserve the best. Sometimes waking up
each morning, bringing school supplies to school, doing your homework,
attending practice, putting in that extra time to really be good is going to
seem like it is stupid-It’s not. If you want to get somewhere good in life-where
each of you deserve to be- you are going to have to face adversity and you’re
going to have to fight for it. At some points you are going to have to prove
that you are worth it and it is going to seem impossible…remember that it
isn’t. Keep fighting. Keep believing. You’re worth it.
I have been
thinking about what the number one thing I wanted you to remember when you walk
out of my doors for the last time is; and although I am a writing teacher-it’s
not anything about punctuation, capitalization, spelling, pre-writes or Six
Traits-although it would be great for you to recall each of those things. If
there is only one thing that you remember from my class, remember that you are
worth it. Many of you have already been told that you aren't deserving or have the belief that you will never make it very far in life because others have told
you. Those are lies-lies that I have been trying to fight with you for the last
nine months. However, it is proven fact that it takes so many more times of
hearing the truth to stop believing the lie. I don’t want you to walk out of
the seventh grade and into the summer or eighth grade or any of your future
defeated. I want you to remember that you are worth it…after brainstorming with
a friend; we devised the idea of getting each of you MudLove Bands reading that
phrase. You see, MudLove is a company that takes literal mud and makes bands
out of it while donating the profit to clean water campaigns. Think of it, mud
is gross, thick gunk that we don’t think a whole lot about, yet many people are
wearing this jewelry-making it worth something. Now these bands were not
something super cheap, so I enlisted my support system---a group of people that
could one day be your employers, professors, teachers, friends, mentors and
more. These people each donated money to prove to you that you are worth it.
They went out of their way because they wanted to show you that you are loved
and deserving of the best. There is nothing that you have had to do for these
people to prove that you are worth it and there is nothing you will ever need
to do other than to believe that you are. You are worth it. You are worth the
fight. You are worth the hard work. You are worth the grades. You are worth the
late night games and early morning practices. You are worth the money spent.
You are worth the hours put in. You are worth throwing away the razor blades.
You are worth eating the next meal. You are worth taking your next breath and
throwing down all the self hate. You are worth everything. You have made this
last year worth my college education….If you were the only students that I ever
had the privilege of teaching, all of that work would have been worth it.
Please, if there is one thing you remember. Remember you are worth it.
I don’t expect
each of you to wear these bands, but I do expect each of you to rise to the
occasion of believing you’re worth it. However, I do ask that you just keep
this band-hang it somewhere, wear it,
put it somewhere you can see it and any time you look at it-remember how much
you are loved and how much confidence I have in each of your futures…not to
mention the confidence that these complete strangers have in you.
I love you all.
Class
dismissed.
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