February 9, 2001
Friday
Life is like a box of chocolates,
you never know what you're gonna get.
- Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump
(it's been a long time since i've written in here cause i had all these problems uploading my new entries onto my webpage....)
in the past few days i'm not sure of what i learned. i know that i've learned a lot. but then again, life's a learning experience, right?
the quote seems to fit perfectly for me (especially since about half of my daily intake is some form of chocolate). the thing is, i've picked a few good, yummy chocolates in the past. you know, the kind of chocolate that makes you excited to eat another one. (here i go again with another analogy) i've had so many experiences in which i've ultimately grown (in the example i grow fatter (in real life too haha!) and in the analogy i mean i grow as a person (although that's kinda in real life too! haha!) anyways, so i pick a chocolate, i have no clue what's going to be inside. some of the chocolate pieces are all pretty and intricate looking, others are plain as plain can be. but i go ahead and pick one. some have been good and tasty, some have been so sick nasty that it made me want to barf. (kinda like those gross bourbon or whatever filled cherry chocolate whiskey things...YUCKORAMA). when i accidentally pick those out of the box of chocolates, you can bet i don't want to pick another chocolate out of that box! but i guess i do anyways, right? just for the hope that it'll be another yummy one....
my point -
in this past week i think i've eaten a chocolate that has opened my eyes to a whole new flavor. i thought i tasted them all, you know? well, i mean, i know that i don't know much about life but i didn't think i could be surprised by anything new... but i think i have...basically i'm talking about my new experiences at Berkeley High and at Harding Elementary School.
i mean, my high school and elementary experience were nothing at all like the ones i've seen in the past 2 weeks...flat out, i have never seen, heard, or even imagined the scene at Berkeley High as the lunch bell rings and the halls start filling with students...in no way do i mean that negatively either...it's one of those things where you just can't say anything about it, you just watch it and think "wow. (slight nodding of head) this is really neat". there's just sooooo much noise...lots and lots of a blending, a dull roar...yet something about it is so individually unique.
yeah i'm very conscious that different high schools and elementary schools exist but looking at it from the other side - being on the "giving" end as the mentor or teachers aid versus the not-so-eagerly "receiving" student end changes a lot for me...especially since IN NO WAY WHATSOEVER was my high school anything like Berkeley High. for starters, the ethnic make up of Berkeley High is practically opposite of my high school...and then there are the elementary kids...i mean, i thought it was normal to read 5-6 books per week as a fourth grader...and it is normal...where i came from...because that's what i was taught. but if you go to a school where you don't have the resources, where you don't have the materials, where the schools may not have the funds, things just are different.
i love the fact that kids learn. see, the thing with us adults is that pride becomes a huge factor in the learning arena. kids are ready and willing to soak up what they're taught. they have the whole world ahead of them and haven't had too much of reality infect their hopeful minds...adults are ready to prove and show off what they know instead of admitting how little they know. they're up and ready to let people know that "oh, yeah, i already knew that. but did you know that _____"... hee hee....i see a lot of this here at capr- oops, i mean i see it a lot... ;D
i think God has blessed me by letting me see early on what i love to do. you know how pastor eug always said that a perfect job would be to do something you love and get paid for it?
yeah...i think that's how i feel about education...i mean i know that the pay isn't great, but in my opinion, it's more than sufficient...i'm not exactly demanding a million dollar home and $100 facial lotion...you know? (haha...but i still dream of my mahogany or stained oak office room that i'll have in my house where i can have lots of file cabinets!!! i'll just have to save up...hee hee) anyways, just imagine...i could get paid to teach children how to read!!!!!!! isn't that amazing? that hundreds of parents would entrust me and all other teachers with the huge, colossally important task of literacy! i happen to think that reading is the most important skill needed for future success. or i could teach bio and i could inspire one student to become a doctor...and that one student can grow to save your life! (i am being soooooooo unrealistic right now but i'm in a "i can make a difference in this world!" type of mood)
but you know what? i think a mistake many of us make is thinking that we can't make a difference in this world.
we can.
YOU can.
i will.
(how weird, i feel so conceited in saying that but i mean it in a i-taught-you-the-alphabet-and-now-you're-successful type of way)
my mom still wants me to do something else with my life. what can i say? i'm literally following her in her footsteps by choosing a route of life that will not make me the most money but will bring me the most satisfaction and pleasure. (she's a musician - organist, pianist)
i apologize for going on and on about this education thing but you know what? i really dig it.
you know who was a great teacher?
that's right...our very own Lord and Savior...
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