Have a great life.

I am finished with college classes. And it quickly came to an end.  In fact, I am now student teaching, and am rarely on campus.  Where did college go?  As one of my professor's closed our final class meeting, she had us sit in the floor in a circle.  She asked each of us to take one of the smooth stones she passed around, grasping it in our hands.  We closed our eyes and thought over our semester, coming up with one word to finish the phrase, "I am          ."  The environment our community had created left this group of people to feel free to end that sentence with honesty.  Some people said more knowledgeable, excited, patient. When it came around to me, "I am ready."

As another teacher closed our last class, he explained that this semester he had been prepping us for all kinds of encounters we would need to be ready for when we enter the field.  Between the jokes, the skits, and stories all representing experiences he's had teaching high school over the years, I know he loves his job.  The last thing he planned for us to read was a personal letter he had received from a past student of his. The letter thanked him for being a great teacher and encouraging this student to pursue a better future than any one ever had before.

 He prefaced it by basically saying we would encounter many bumps in the road on this journey and maybe feel as though we are not making any difference at all - but there are occasions we will see the fruit of our labor and it makes this crazy job worth it.  Once we finished reading and as my last class of my senior year ended he simply said,

"Have a great life.  Go get 'em."

So here I go. Ready?