Five Lessons

Only five lessons left with each of my teaching groups (except for year 10, they get three a week, and year 7, who get 2 a week).

In honour of this occasion, here's Five Lessons I've Learned This Year.

1. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

My parents' friend Bruce passed away on Friday morning. If you recall, I wrote about him a month ago (May 16, "A Shout-Out to Bruce").

It is thinking about Bruce that makes me remember that life is too precious to be concerned with the little stupid things. At the end of the day, my job is only one part of my life, and, frustrated as I get, it is not worth being freaked out over it too much.

So I do my job when I'm at school, and then I go to London on the weekends. Works for me.

2. Don't Be Afraid to Try New Experiences

In the space of one little year, I have learned to like the following: cabbage, cucumber, raw bell pepper (of any color), vinaigarette dressing, Tikka Masala (an Indian dish), and goat's milk (though I stopped drinking that because it spoils so quickly and I was wasting my money).

Despite getting a bit wobbly-kneed in high places, I have been on the London Eye (twice!) and gone to the tip-top of the Eiffel Tower (900 feet). The view from the top is worth ever moment of terror.

Knowing that I probably wouldn't like it--and I didn't--I tried pure Irish Guinness just to say I had.

I've spent time with people I wasn't sure I'd have things in common with, just to make sure I wasn't giving up on them because of some prejudice.

I have travelled all over England by myself so that I could see places like York, Bath and Windsor Castle--even though no one else was interested in going with me. I have never minded going alone, and I have learned to enjoy my own company.

I have even tried salmon pate. That wasn't such a good experience.

3. It's Not You, It's Them

Kids will be kids. And the kids here are horrid sometimes. I mean, Horrid with a capital H, which stands for Hell.

And the parents! Their child horrid? Oh no, little so-and-so is an angel! Sure, they drink on the weekends and have sex at 13, and don't like to work. But they're just like me!

It is not my fault that I have not completely turned things around in my classroom. I have fought a hell of a battle, and I still feel like I've come out on top. I may not teach much, but dammit, those kids know not to leave my classroom until I dismiss them!

They may not sing unless I hold a gun to their heads, but they (mostly) remember that Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and the spaces spell FACE.

And as Dad once said, "They respect you." To which I replied with a snort. And Dad calmly replied, "I think they do. They may not like you, but they respect you."

Heh.

4. Friendships Are Not Weakened by Distance

Email is a wonderful thing. I'm at a point where the person who interrupts me too much in the morning better beware. I get to school between 7:00 and 7:30 and spend the first hour I am here emailing.

It is my sanity.

I have a new cleaning lady in my room. The lady who used to clean in here got a new job, and I'm very happy for her. But this new one is extremely chatty and I have a feeling I'm going to hear her life story more than I will be emailing. She even came over and looked at the screen while I was emailing Melissa this morning!

Anyway, back to the point of this lesson. I've known for a while that the best friends in life are the ones that you can spend time apart from, and when you go back, you settle right back into the old comfort and familiarity.

I am blessed to have many of these friendships in my life.

And the most important lesson of all...

5. Life is Short--Live Your Dreams

I have figured out that I can do anything I set my mind to--after all, while I dreamed of working in England, I'm not really sure I ever believed, deep down inside, that it would really happen.

Still, I didn't let that stop me from applying to TeachLondon. And when I was offered this job, I knew it was a school that had its problems. Granted, I didn't know how bad the problems were. But I could not give up the chance to live in England again. So I took it.

Has it been a perfect experience? No. It was never supposed to be--it was supposed to be real. And all things considered, it has been pretty damned good. It was always entirely possible that I would not get along with the people I live with, or that Burnham-on-Crouch would be dead ugly and have no charms whatsoever. It was always entirely possible that the school would be disappointed in me. None of these things happened.

So, yes, things worked out very well. Well enough that I considered staying longer. I just couldn't get around the fact that I am very unhappy working at St. Peter's.

So I start a new adventure, and I'm building a new dream. It involves Robbie Williams suddenly deciding that Seattle is the only place he can live...in all seriousness, though, I know that life is too short to not enjoy the ride, with all its twists and turns.

Now, does anyone have Rob's phone number?