Simply Amazing

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"- really. While I love the holidays and truly cherish the vacations in order to spend invaluable time with family, there is something about the start of a new school year that excites and propels me forward to take the next steps towards the potential me that I dream of one day becoming. This is when I set my new year's resolutions, evaluate my personal growth over the last year and goals for the next, and then truly make strides towards being the person that I was sent here to be....well, at least for a few months that is.

For the past three years this process has been accompanied by the "Back to School" meetings held at the high school where I teach at in preparation for the new school year. All of our faculty and staff gather together at 9 am one week prior to the day when we will open our doors to students, and take in a simply amazing, motivational message delievered by the president of our school. This year was no exception.

This brings me to the picture displayed at the beginning of this post. His name is Peter, one of the defenders on the US Mens Water Polo team that earned the silver medal in the Beijing games.... he is also the son of the president of the high school. Listening to the president as he spoke of building character through the familiar traits of honesty, idealism, healthy skepticism, positive self-esteem and even some disappointments along the way, as they were embedded in the context of Peter's journey in water polo and then so eloquently related to our jobs as educators, was undoubtedly a source of motivation that encouraged me to believe that what we do really can matter. At least I'll believe that for the moment; it's hard to hold on to that thought amidst competing college admissions processes, grades, and a whole host of other issues that arise throughout the year. However, the year hasn't begun yet and so I'll simply relish this moment of excitement, dreams and possibilities. Cheesy? Yeah....but it feels good.