I run. I run a classroom. I run my life! I can't promise any eloquent words of wisdom, but I can share what it's like to be a runner and a teacher, and everything in between.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Reflections...

Sometimes when we're well on our way,
we forget where we started.
Or when we cross that finish line,
we forget that first day of training
and what it felt like.
Reflection is a powerful, powerful thing.







My cousin emailed me the other day
to share with me that she's thinking about starting running.
I excitedly emailed her back,
trying not to overwhelm her with all my "getting started" ideas,
and then began reflecting on my own beginning.

I didn't start running until 
my third semester of my teaching credential.
It was my mentor teacher 
who inspired me to try it out.
"How was your weekend?" I'd ask.
"Oh my husband drove me to ________
so I could do _______ race."
I played soccer on the weekends,
and visited the gym once or twice a week,
but nothing crazy.
I finally said to myself,
If she can do it, so can I!

I started by running
to a stoplight in my neighborhood and back.
Ha!  I can remember multiple days
feeling crazy for trying this "sport."
Rubbing my side,
waving my hands over my head,
hoping for the side ache to just go away.
And sometimes, just plain giving up and walking.
I probably looked like a huge idiot.
But something kept me going.
Soon, I was able to make that run
without stopping.

And then came the addiction.

That summer I worked as a camp director.
I had to report to work by 7am.
By the time I'd get home from work,
it'd be blazing outside
and running on the treadmill became less fun.
I'm not really sure how I convinced myself into this,
but I started setting my alarm
 for 5:45am two times a week,
just so I could sneak in an early morning run.
Whaaaaaa?
Who was this girl?

---Flash Forward---

Here I am now.
I would call myself a real runner.
Obviously I'll never be an Olympian
or win my age group in a race.
But I'm a runner.
I relish on improving as much as I can.
And I honestly never thought I'd be where I am now
when I first started the trot to that stoplight long ago.

----

Teaching and running are so similar,
it's actually kind of nuts.
Maybe that's why runners make good teachers.
And/or vise-versa.

The end of the school year always brings a reflection
of where we are and where we've come from.
And, more importantly, where we want to go.
Though I came into my "first year of teaching"
with a lot of experience in a TON of classrooms,
I think I've grown more than I ever imagined
in these first two years of teaching.
I feel like I've finally found my teaching identity
and I'm excited to see where it's going to take me.
How it will evolve.
And I'm sure in a few years,
I'll look back and reflect on my first two years teaching
and view them as my runs to the stoplight.
Because things will look so differently then.
I can't wait for that day.

It's hard to see the finish line when you're so early in.
But looking back from the finish line,
that's the fun part.

And when you finish,
that's only the start to another race.










1 comment:

  1. LOVE this. Inspires me to keep running in the teaching world :) So, so true. I'm excited to look back on this year and smile.

    ReplyDelete