As I sit in the San Francisco Airport right now reflecting on my previous five days, there truly are few words that I could use to describe the experience that I just had. As the amazing facilitators of the seminar I just attended stated, “It’s like trying to explain to someone who has never tasted chocolate what chocolate tastes like.” Over the past five days, I completed things emotionally and physically that I never thought would be possible for me. I am returning to Wisconsin a woman who knows who she is and wants to be and is committed to grabbing life and soaking in every moment! My top three takeaways from the week:
1. Life should be lived in the present. The past has no place in my today. Life is so beautiful-from the sounds and the smells and the people that moments should be enjoyed as they come.
2. Keep myself centered. Life is filled with stressors, annoyances, conflict, and pain. Here is the thing though: I control how I let all of these things affect me. Nobody else does. This sense of personal responsibility and the realization that I am not a victim to life has shifted the way that I look at circumstances that have greatly weighed me down.
3. I have clear dreams, goals, and aspirations, but when I create a list of how I spend my time on a day-to-day basis, these things don’t show up in that day as much as they should. I am committed to purposefully making time to ensure that these things find time into my days because my dreams and goals are pretty awesome, and it would be a shame if I didn’t share them with the world.
The redwood trees stand taller than any tree I have ever witnessed in my life, yet their roots do not run deep. Instead of running deep, they run wide and interlock with one another to keep themselves strong. The power of this amazing piece of nature makes me think of all of you reading this. As teachers from all over the country, we reach out and connect with one another in order to be the best possible educators that we can. Please know my sincere gratitude for the connections that I have formed through the blogging world. You have helped me continue to grow as a teacher and literacy coach, and I hope that in some way, I have helped you do the same professionally.
As I return to Wisconsin, my friends, family, boyfriend, and co-workers will welcome back a bold, trusting, and worthy woman. I am going to close this post with a few quotes that I’ve found fitting to my “taste of chocolate for the first time” experience. If I can leave you with one thing, it’s just to go do something that you’ve always wanted-even if it seems unreasonable. Because guess what? You can. There’s no better time than now! 🙂
