PMA

Today, I woke up tired and couldn't find a thing to wear. I had a knot in the back of my frizzy curly hair and I was running late. I waited in line at Starbucks in the drive through for 10 minutes - in an effort to boost my mood via caffeine. I got to school late, was rushing, and kept getting interrupted. I forgot to do hall duty, I had kids tell me they didn't even know we had a quiz, and someone found one of my textbooks in the trash.

Then something happened - I walked in the hall and saw the scowl of a co-worker. She began berating her students, yelling at them about menial things. I hadn't heard a nice thing about the students come out of her mouth in months. She began talking to another co-worker, complaining about my classroom.

I realized then and there - in this profession, if you lose that positive mental attitude, that "naive spirit" as it has been called to me before, you're done. You have to believe that these kids can do better. You have to believe everyone is inherently good natured. You have to believe that you can make a difference. You have to see the good in the kids. You have to reward the successes.

In my life right now, there are many people full of negativity. It is so contagious. I try so hard not to get caught up in it. I realize there are some things that aren't going well in my life but there are also some really great things that I can miss out on if I am so tunnel-visioned towards the bad. People try to abuse their relationships with me, use my kindness and take advantage of it. All I can do is exactly what I tell my students every day - focus on yourself and your success.

Although it is tough, I am going to try to smile through the scowls, speak kindly and quietly, and celebrate successes. When I can't do that anymore, it is probably time to move on to another profession.