Daily Journal #136 - My Desk

Oftentimes I will sit at my school desk and I'll find a gift of some sort awaiting me.  Today, upon my arrival at school, I found a handwritten letter from a former student of mine.  He is a senior this year and is headed to college in the fall.

I put my lunch away, queued up some Justin Timberlake and opened this beautiful gift.  It made me cry, not only because who wrote it (I respect him greatly) but also because he handwrote his words in cursive on legitimate old school stationery.

In a couple of pages he lifted my spirit and reminded me that the haters (for lack of a better word) don't matter at all compared to the sunshine that warms my heart and soul.

When I got to the second page of the letter, a passage stood out.  I had to read it twice to believe it. It read, "If nothing else, I respect you.  And I don't mean that I simply respect you as a fellow human being; I revere you as an outstanding example of fairness, generosity, kindness, honesty and passion - an example that everyone should find and follow.  The world should be populated by a ubiquitous collection of you's."

I almost gave up on you because of the fools with the megaphones - the ones in the back of the room all slouched over "too cool for school".  I almost gave up on you because I forgot I was in water and that some of the fishes (masquerading in teenage meat suits) are just food for the sharks.  I almost gave up because I almost forgot who I am.

I am a strong, intelligent, Mexican woman.

I am a first generation college student.

I am a fatherless daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.

I am an educator and a lifelong learner.

I am a lover of books, coffee, fuzzy socks, and well-written dialogue.

I am a dancer, an artist, a violinist, a writer, a yogi, a chef.

I am a dark chocolate lover, a quick shower-taker, a sugar snap pea thief, and an unsweetened iced tea fan.

I am a two-stepping, Ford pickup driving, native Texan who will always choose the light over darkness.

Anybody who doesn't "get" this????  I'm thinkin'...it's your loss, not mine.

Onward LIONS.