Have you ever walked through the halls of your school wishing that people would just give you a colossal break?
Get off your case?
Maybe stop and ask what kind of day you're having before getting in your face with words like, 'you need to...' or 'you'd better...' or 'you should just...'?
I get it.
You have a backstory, a history. I'm sure there's a lot on your plate. My plate is full too.
We're all walking around this planet with so much weighing heavy on our minds, so much of the time.
As a teacher, I've been guilty of correcting kids first and trying to figure them out after the fact. I'm trying to do better. I've made progress, but I've still got a ways to go.
The thing is, we could all use a little more empathy in this world. We tend to be very centrist. That is, we look at the world through our own eyes and thoughts and feelings and often fail to consider the way life looks and feels through someone's else's eyes and thoughts and feelings.
We could all stand to do life a little better.
I'm trying.
I'm sorry for the times I've failed to make sure kids know how very important and amazing they are.
I'm working on that, to be better. To do better. To be kinder and more patient. To remember that we all have a backstory with a beginning, a middle and, ultimately, an end.
I can't change my beginning now. It's already in the rear-view. And I want to end this life well. It's this 'middle' portion of my life that I need to make the most of--and there is really no time to lose.
I want to love people better.
To be more patient, more kind. To avoid being jealous or boastful or proud. I don't want to be rude or think only of myself, to get mad at people or be so petty that I keep track of how many times they've messed up. What kind of person would ever take joy in the fact that other people in this world are suffering? What is that mess? All I want to do is take joy when Truth prevails in another person's life.
I want to protect you. Trust you. Always hope the best for you.
I want to show you what it looks like to persevere through hard times.
Because love never fails.
Whatever your story is, I believe in you.
Let's go be a light in the world today and every day. Let's be patient and kind with one another. Consider what the world looks like and feels like for someone other than ourselves. Feel what they feel.
I would love for you to go out and get to know someone else's backstory today... and maybe even share yours.
Peace.
Miss Daisy thinks kids are WAY cooler than adults which is why she hangs out with 7th graders five days a week peddling grammar and structure and form. Somehow, she manages to get them to buy into most of it. Well, most of the time.
But she also helps kids to find their voices—she shows them how to be heard on the written page. It seems to be working.
In the summers, you can find Daisy in her gardens with her husband. You might also catch her in her office writing underneath a real chandelier. As often as she can, though, she loves spending time with her grandson. (He was born on her birthday, you know. She’s been impossible to live with ever since.)
If you would like Miss Daisy to come speak at your school, you will definitely want to share this website with your principal!