Well, another
school year is complete, and I spent the last few weeks decompressing, cleaning
(a little), and doing what I do best…thinking.
I had a
conversation with a friend the other day…
OK, let me stop
here. Here’s the thing about a personal
blog. If I am going to write about my
life, the fact is…I do have friends in my life.
So, if you see “your” story here, please take it as a compliment that I
thought about our time and connection together and wanted to mention it
here. I rarely ever choose to put names
in my blog. So, you can also un-assume
it is about you, and you can just read the post.
Positive or
negative, if you’re mentioned here, I most likely think a lot of you.
So, in my
conversation, we were talking about the power of positive thinking. We were talking about the validity of
“thinking and visualizing.” We talked
about the notion of putting energy into the universe and how that energy comes
back to you. Some might refer to this as the “Secret,” a theory on living based
on a bestselling book from several years back.
If you are an “Oprah” person, you probably are very familiar with this
concept…She is a huge believer and advocate of this philosophy.
My friend asked
if I believed in it. As we chatted, I
shared some of the ways I do believe in it, and some of the ways I incorporate
it in my life. I told her I believe in
making lists, putting goals and desires in writing, and I believe in the power
of a vision board, creating a collage of images and words of goals you have for
your life.
I shared a story
with her that I will share here: When I
was in 3rd grade, I went to a school in the same community I work
now (stay tuned). In the 3rd
grade, I had a student teacher (Miss Chrisman was her name, and I wish I could
find her now to share this). At the end
of her time with us, she wrote us these adorable predictions of where we would
be in our lives in the year 2005. I
remember thinking even as a 9 year old…”Why would she pick 2005? I will be 32 by then.”
I tucked the
prediction into a scrapbook. It stayed
there for the next 22 years.
Let me restate something
I have mentioned in a previous post…I don’t believe in coincidences.
Later, as my life
unfolded—not everything went according to plan. As I mentioned before, college wasn’t all cram
sessions and coffee. While I was
working for Kroger (a job I had had since 16), I eventually moved to the
catering division, as an event planner.
While I was there (I was miserable), I wrote in my journal a lot. I was doing a gratitude journal at the time,
but one day, after work, I wrote:
“On February 24th,
2000, I will have a new job.”
True story: On February 24th, my best friend
called me on the phone, and she said, “Hi.
Do you want a new job?” I ended
up interviewing and getting a job at Head Start as a family service
worker.
As time went on,
I still had my dream (of becoming a teacher or a writer). I was
sitting in the office one day, and I overheard another friend talking about the
teacher licensure program at Ohio Dominican.
I made an appointment, and I was on my way.
After a long road
to obtain my licensure, I was ready for the interviews. I created my portfolio, and then I went into
the basement. I dug out the prediction
that I had tucked into my scrapbook.
“In the year
2005, MT, will become a third grade teacher at Etna Road Elementary
School.”
It was now
2004. I didn’t get hired at the school
where I had been subbing. Broken and sad,
with no other “bites,” I saw a posting for a 1st grade job in the
community where I grew up, Whitehall.
The interview wasn’t at Etna Road.
It was at Beechwood, one of the other elementary schools. I had been working summer school in the
district that DIDN’T hire me (I was already committed). But…that principal knew the principal at
Beechwood very well (no coincidences), and I got an interview. I took my prediction with me. I got the job. In fact, I wasn’t even home before I got the
call with the offer.
In 2004, MT
became a first grade teacher at Beechwood Elementary, and in 2005, she was 32,
and she was teaching in the same district as the prediction.
These are two
small examples of how the power of written word and positive energy has
influenced and shaped my life’s journey.
As my friend and
I chatted, she began to share that maybe, just maybe, there was some “food for
thought” in what I was sharing. I
explained that I had created a vision board that was mainly focused on having a
baby (which I have discussed at length in a previous post). The vision board also reflected my feelings
about how I believe that the kitchen is the heart of the home and family. There were also many images and words about
begin active and choosing a healthy lifestyle.
The board isn’t magic, of course.
I made it in December 2010. She was
born in November 2011. The heart of my
family is our kitchen, and it is also the heart of many of my friendships. That active lifestyle, also mentioned in a
previous post, began in June 2013, and it has grown stronger and stronger. It is a part of not just my life, but also
for my husband and daughter, who is now 31 months old.
I have also
incorporated the power of positive thinking and visualization into my
classroom. This past year was my first
foray into teaching in a “testing grade.”
As the big test date came closer and closer, I wanted to teach my
students some strategies for taking the test—and for life. We took construction paper, and we folded it
into 4 boxes. In one box, we wrote the
strategy that works best for me for “what to do when I am tired, and I’m
stuck.” In another box, we wrote one
happy memory that we could think of if we need a quick brain break in the
middle of the test. In a third box, we
wrote 1-3 words that get us going when we need a push. In the last box, we wrote the score we wanted
to see on the paper when we got our score in the mail. Below is an example of what my 4 box looked
like:
Looking up at
the ceiling/visualizing
(my strategy)
|
When Maris was
born, and I looked into her eyes for the first time.
(a happy
memory/thought)
|
PERSEVERANCE
BELIEVE
(the
words that keep me going)
|
445
(my
pretend score)
|
The kids looked
at this 4 box each time we “practiced,” and they also read over it one last
time before the test. It was their
reminder that they had strategies and strength. Did it work? Did this translate into "high" scores? All I will say is this…I am damn proud of them, and I do believe that they took that test feeling positive and believing in themselves. And, that…well, that -a positive feeling a belief in oneself- is for life.
In the last few
years, I have been cautious about what I “put out there” into the
universe. I am cautious not to say
things that I really don’t want to happen.
I am a believer in what “positive” things could happen. It
isn’t really that “out there” as one might think. Actually, I saw the perfect pin on Pinterest
recently that
captures this
belief and philosophy spot on:
It doesn't seem to want to post here, but this is what it says:
Decide what it is you want.
Write that shit down.
Make a fucking plan.
And…
Work on it.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Damn good advice. You want it…put it out there, and then GO GET IT!
