Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Learning From Death, to Live





The past few days I've sat in my classroom going through the motions, teaching, and putting on that "happy face of Miss Novotney" so that my students will hopefully leave my classroom refreshed. Internally, I've been in a terrible down and out mood. It wasn't until this morning that I think I really came to terms with what has been bothering me.

Flashback to Saturday afternoon when I received a phone call that a classmate and friend of mine had passed suddenly in a car accident, leaving behind a child. Catching up from the shock, grief and utter frustration that someone's time on earth was cut way too short, leaving behind a family. Someone who had given much of their life to our country by serving overseas. The pain was a little too much.


Sitting in my classroom this morning, I realized something. I can sit and reflect, and feel crappy internally for months about this issue, or I can live my life better than I have been, making sure to seize every moment and every opportunity that I'm given.

Daily we are given chances upon chances to make a difference. Jon made such a difference in the lives of everyone around him, through his sheer brilliant intelligence, to the fact that he had put his life on the line for millions of people he did not know. As I sit here and am saddened that he left this earth much to early, I  realize that my chances are not cut short, and I still have every opportunity to continue my effort to make a difference.



Two weeks ago I sat on a panel speaking to student teachers who are in the final stages of deciding if they will go in to teaching high school agriculture. I left the panel with a final phrase that read "You will not change the world, but you WILL change the way your students view it." I will never cease to forget that thought that was instilled in me by my supervising teachers when I student-taught.

When Jon returned from Afghanistan, he made the following statement to the local paper. "It didn't bother me at the time that we were at war," he said. "Maybe a little part of the reason I signed up was to help to fight the good fight."
In Memory:



No comments:

Post a Comment