To those I didn\u2019t get to say \u201cgood-bye\u201d to [students and staff],<\/p>\n
Though some may say I can only claim 20 as my own this year, I would say they are mistaken. So, to the hundreds\u2026this is for you<\/em>.<\/p>\n To you<\/em>, the ones I would see in the hallway and you<\/em> smiled at me. To you<\/em>, the ones I held the door for. To you, <\/em>the ones that would fill my heart (and ears) with stories that made me laugh. To you, <\/em>the ones I greeted on the bus. To you, <\/em>the ones I rooted for and celebrated with. To you,<\/em> the ones I danced with (without embarrassment). To you<\/em>, the ones I would hug tight after only two days (a weekend) apart. This is to you<\/em>!<\/p>\n You <\/em>are the reason for the late nights of planning. You<\/em> are the reason for the 4:30am wake-up calls Monday through Friday. You<\/em> are the reason for the 112-mile daily commute. You <\/em>are the reason I always smile, even when I am frustrated. You <\/em>are the reason I dress up like Cindy-Lou Who and Orange Play-doh! You <\/em>are the reason that I teach with a little more excitement each day! You <\/em>are the reason the reason I cry tears of joy. You<\/em> are the reason behind every crazy idea, and the reason I follow through. It is because of You,<\/em> that I teach!<\/p>\n If I am honest, I cannot say that it is always easy or that it doesn\u2019t break my heart. I cannot always say that I enjoy the screaming and behaviors I see everywhere. I cannot even say that the planning or the paperwork is worth it. BUT what I can<\/em> say is that I do it for you,<\/em> and because of you. <\/em><\/p>\n Now you may be wondering who is the \u201cyou\u201d <\/em>I am speaking of? Well, it is YOU, <\/em>all of you! YOU, <\/em>every student that I know by name! YOU<\/em>, every teacher, administrator, assistant, or maintenance worker I see daily. I do what I do, and I am who I am because of YOU<\/em>! So, to you<\/em>, do not ever think you<\/em> are not worth it. Don\u2019t ever think you<\/em> don\u2019t belong. Don\u2019t ever think you<\/em> are not cared about. Don\u2019t ever believe you<\/em> are not loved!<\/p>\n\n\n See, being a teacher means you are privileged to learn new things through a fresh perspective. I have learned how to plan, how to write better, how to really use a computer, and how to manage a crazy environment. I have learned that I like tiny humans (most days) and that I am good at handling behavior. I have learned how to make people feel safe and that I am good at figuring out what people need. However, if you ask me the greatest lesson, I have learned this year, I would have to say that I learned exactly how to LOVE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I never thought it would be possible to love so many and so deeply, but it happened. I believed the saying \u201cthose that are the hardest to love, are the ones who need it the most\u201d. Instead, I learned that \u201cthose that are the hardest to love, are the ones that make it worth it\u201d! I believe my students and fellow staff were actually the ones teaching me this, more than I ever taught them! So, I truly thank all of you<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is sad that I didn\u2019t get to say a formal \u201cgood-bye\u201d. I will miss out on seeing you <\/em>achieve your end-of-the-year awards. I will miss out on the final hug. I can\u2019t give the gifts and the wisdom I wanted you<\/em> all to know! That will be my only sorrow through this difficult time. But if I am to really reflect on this school year, I think I did the most and the best that I know how, because I hope you <\/em>finally learned the lesson I wanted you <\/em>to walk away with. LOVE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are reading this, know that you are part of the \u201cyou\u201d<\/em>. Know that I couldn\u2019t have made it through this year without you<\/em>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To those I didn\u2019t get to say \u201cgood-bye\u201d to [students and staff], Though some may say I can only claim 20 as my own this year, I would say they are mistaken. So, to the hundreds\u2026this is for you. To you, the ones I would see in the hallway and you smiled at me. To you, the ones I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[9,11,14],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":613,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions\/613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pursuitofone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Perspective of a Learner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Learning Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n