Potential

Whew! It's Friday! The Friday of a three day long weekend on top of that! Woo hoo! Happy Dance! Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! (It will not get out of my head). . . I think I've expressed it correctly but to be clear, this teacher is really excited it is Friday! It was just an odd week. I felt like everyone was a little off. It wasn't a bad week by any means just a little different. Still. . . I am glad it is Friday!

Every day, I try to write something down that made me laugh. I will compile them all some day, but for know they are post-its or scribbles in my calendar. This week, one of these comments really got to me. Being able to determine what my student know varies based on the day, hour, and minute. Some times they know everything (really! The things these students can recall astounds me!) and other times. . . not so much. I was asking one of my students what they knew about energy. I asked if he has ever heard of the word "kinetic". He said "No". I asked if the word "potential" sounded familiar. Without even pausing he said, "Potential. . . what a beautiful word!". He has no idea what it means, he just liked how it sounded. This in itself was just beautiful to me because without even knowing the meaning of the word, he appreciated it.

Potential is the word that comes to mind every time I think of my students. Not in the sappy, big dreams sort of way, but in their everyday actions. They all have SO much potential. From academic things like being able to tell the time, to remember the order of the planets, to be able to write a poem, to edit their own work and get their ideas on paper. Potential for mastering functional skills like not having a meltdown when they have to stop their "screen time", or saying "I want to kill myself" when they get a question wrong when we're playing jeopardy. Potential is a beautiful word that is endless. Every time we're in the middle of a meltdown or a tantrum I have to remind myself that this is opportunity for improvement. This is something we can work on! There is potential and room for so much growth!

Even on the oddest/off-est of weeks, there is potential! There is always potential.
(But I am still glad it is Friday :) )

I do not run.

Well I guess I can now say, "I did not run". The truth is, ever since I was very young, I knew exercise and athletics were not my thing. I struggled with sports because I didn't care about winning and I just never liked the feeling of wearing running shoes (I will admit I was a little unreasonable about some things- I was an odd kid). I very vividly remember the first "One Mile Run" I had to complete in the 6th grade. It ended with me losing my lunch in the girls locker room and having my mom come and pick me up. 

I think my hatred for running got even worse in high school gym class, when we were old enough for the majority of us to run well. I mastered the art of "pretend jogging", in which you walk really fast and move your arms rather swiftly. The key is to also bob your head a bit to make it look like your ponytail is swaying as you "jog". 

In college, to take advantage of the "free" workout facilities (I put that in parenthesis because looking at my student loan debt, I earned that stinkin' gym). I had a year long but toxic friendship with the elliptical. I ended up being that girl that lost the freshman fifteen- that elliptical was fantastic company! I still hated running. I don't count the elliptical as running. But, alas, since graduating from Bridgewater in 2011, I have not really felt the urge to begin any sort of physical fitness routine. Until now that is. 

My wonderful, beautiful, athletic cousin has signed me up for a 5K to benefit a charity in Washington, DC. I had briefly expressed my interest in the cause and before you know it, I got a confirmation email thanking me for signing up. Yay! (NOT!) So, in preparation for hopefully not getting lost in the middle of DC (I know my cousin- she will not think twice about leaving me in the dust) I have started training. 

To the end of my road and back is 1.5 miles, so I'll need to be able to do that twice. . . The race is next Saturday so I have about a week left to finish training. I am especially proud of myself as today I jogged the entire 1.5 miles! Without stopping! I didn't stop once to "check my shoelace" or "tighten my ponytail" or "switch up my tunes" (the usual excuses). This may not seem like very far or very accomplishment worthy at all, but for me- IT'S HUGE! See photo below for proof my family knows I cannot and do not run very often :

Burned. Big time. But all with love. I will admit, the new fancy bright shoes have increased my motivation a bit! And some tunes of course. The highlights of my workout playlist are:

1) "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift (Because I like to pretend I am training for the Hungar Games) 

2) "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry (It's just so darn catchy)

3) "Cruise Remix" by Florida Georgia Line featuring Nelly (Duh.) 

Annnnd 4) "Leavin'" by Jesse McCartney

Chances are very slim I will be the first one to cross the finish line. I don't really even mind coming in last. I just want to finish. I want to go up there, and run/jog/walk/skip my way through a 5K. Because I'm tired of missing out because I am scared of failure. With the population I am going to work with, it's not always about meeting a goal- it's about working towards one. Making little bits of progress day by day and celebrating what may seem to the rest of the community like very small accomplishments. That being said, I am glad my cousin signed me up for this 5K. The 1.5 miles I jogged today may not seem like much but to me they are further than I've ever gone. It's a small accomplishment that makes a difference to me. 

From a non-runner to the rest of the world: I am going to do this. And it's going to be AWESOME! (And I am hoping my cousin will meet me at the finish line- if not, I may be having myself a solo DC adventure). 

May sunbeams find you!

Lindsay