Everyone has a Story

Hooray!  We made it to Thanksgiving break!

I wanted to express my gratitude to all of my students who allow me to share in your lives in big or small ways.  It means so much that you will allow me to walk beside you during the excitement of celebratory moments or during the tear-filled moments of heartache and disappointment.  By opening up your lives to me, each of you has impacted my life in ways you can't even imagine and I am incredibly thankful.

In a lot of ways, this welcoming into the lives of my students was on display with the recent "Everyone has a Story" project.  You do have stories and it is a privilege when I can know about and share in those experiences with you.  Over the last few weeks 10 students (5 of which were "my" kids) shared their stories not just with me, but with the whole school.  I am so thankful for and impressed by the courage demonstrated by each of them.  A huge thank you to: Joclyn Blake, Jack Begley, Maddie Reeve, Noah Spaulding-Schecter, Grace Karlock, Zach Richardson, Bobby Hilligoss, Harley Davidson, Blair Andrews, and Maxim Estevez-Curtis. 

But I'd also like to remind you that even though your story wasn't shared publicly, it doesn't mean that it is any less important.  You deserve to have people around you to support and care for you every day no matter what you are experiencing.  And it might not be bad things!  You can have wonderful things happening like college acceptances or new boyfriend/ girlfriends in your life which can fill you with excitement and that too deserves to have people care about it just like you are excited and care about it.

Now that we have hit Thanksgiving break and this project is wrapping up, my hope is that you will still try to find the courage to share your own story with me, with other adults you trust, or with the people in your life who mean the most to you.  I also hope that you will always remember the power you have to help make a positive difference in the lives of those around you by listening and caring.  Every day, you make a difference!  I get to see and hear about it from your friends and peers all of the time, but often you don't even realize the impact you are having on those around you.  So let me remind you that you DO make a difference!

Please be careful over this Thanksgiving Break!  If you are traveling, I hope you have a safe trip.  If you are staying in town, I hope you are able to relax some.  No matter what, I hope you will know that I am thankful for you and wishing you the most wonderful Thanksgiving holiday imaginable.