Thursday, April 2, 2020

A message to my freshmen, sophomores and juniors...

First of all, I understand.  This circumstance that you found yourself in is not what you wanted.  It's out of your control, out of the control of anyone you know and trust.  You're angry, and so am I.  And, no, it's not fair.

I don't know how you feel about distance learning (online school, basically), but I know you appreciate the Zoom meetings that we have.  You actually look forward to them, and so do I.  Hopefully you've found a way to get your lessons completed and feel some control and accomplishment from that.

I miss you being in my classroom.  You are important to me.  I miss my coworkers-- they are my rock.  They are some of the best people I know.  I don't love this distance learning, but I look forward to the Zoom meetings too because it's a little piece of normalcy.  I couldn't be an online teacher day in and day out.  I'd get too bored with it.  I'm more interested in the relationships than anything else.  Sure, I teach you English and prepare you for academic life beyond CBA, but I'm more interested who you become when you leave CBA and what choices you make than if you can correctly punctuate a compound sentence (although that is nice, too).

I don't know how full your days are going to be because I don't know what each teacher is doing with his or her classes.  I do know that staying up late and sleeping in doesn't make you feel very accomplished.  It's okay for awhile, but then it starts to make you feel like you can't ever get anything done.  Develop a routine.  Get up about an hour before your first class meeting so that you can be ready.  Eat on a regular schedule, which doesn't mean all the time.  Snacks are fine, but don't snack all day.  Be active so that you can get tired and you'll be ready to go to bed.  Sometimes when we're not active enough, we don't get tired, so we don't go to bed, and then we don't want to get up.  It's a rotten cycle to get into, so break it.  Force yourself to get up early and don't nap so that you'll be tired enough to go to bed at bedtime or wear yourself out with activity during the day so that you'll go to sleep easily at bedtime.  Taking a shower and actually getting dressed everyday helps us feel accomplished too.  Use this extra time on your hands to reach out to your loved ones.  Call your grandma or your favorite aunt.  Your cousins aren't in school either-- call them.  Share your experiences with them and ask them about theirs.  Limit your screen time, be it your phone, computer, video games, or television.  Take advantage of this time to get caught up on your reading.  You have no requirements, so read what you like.  Binge read your favorite authors.  If you are out of ideas ask me, I'll give you some titles or ideas.  Be resourceful.  Ask your mom or grandma.  Ask your neighbors.  If you have a library card with Western Plains Library System, you can check out ebooks.  There's no reason that you shouldn't be able to get all your AR points for the year.

I hope you can see this time of being at home as it's keeping you safe instead of your being stuck at home.  I don't like being told what to do and I definitely don't like the government telling me what to do, but regardless, here we are.  Don't dwell in a place of negativity or self pity.  It's okay to visit there occasionally, but you have to keep moving forward.  Don't be afraid, either.  This too shall pass.

Make sure all of your school requirements are complete and then learn a new skill.  Maybe try your hand at cooking, baking, or painting, which aren't just girly activities.  Learn how to do laundry or iron a shirt.  Learn how to sew or crochet.  Build something.  Tear something apart.  Keep a journal of your activities.  You'll be able to show it to your kids and grandchildren one day.  Do something you haven't done before.  Don't waste this time.  It has been given to you for a reason.  I have no idea what that reason is, but it's not because the world is buzzing about a virus.

Above all, use this time to draw closer to God.  You have all the time in the world to talk to Him all day.  Read His Word and truly thank Him for all your blessings.  Actually name them one by one.  Keep memorizing Scripture.  Serve your family.  Help out around the house, beyond what is already expected of you.  Show your parents that CBA is teaching you how to be a servant to someone besides yourself.  Keep track of your prayers.  See how God works each one of them out in His timing.  Do some deep soul searching with God.  What do you need to get rid of in your life?  What is unimportant?  What do you need to embrace more?  How is your relationship with your family members?  How can you make it better?  All of these things are good things and worthy of your attention.  I cannot wait to see you again and hear all about this time in your life and what you did with it.  I love you and I miss you.

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