Unexpected Places

During finals week, each day signifies the last day with each specific class of students. The next semester always brings a reshuffling and mixing of the personalities in each period, creating entirely new class dynamics.

Between the final moments where concerned students crowd around for last-second clarifications, there are long stretches of time ticking away as they take each exam… interludes of uninterrupted thoughts for me—rare, in the usually fast-pace dynamic of interacting with hundreds of faces every day.

I sense the pressurized buzz of anticipation and stress giving way to the slower rhythm of wrapping up. This shift always opens a space for moments of reflection on my end.

But the surprise this year came after saying the last “have a great day!” to 18 specific students in particular.

* * * * *

The purpose of some people’s placement in our lives is obvious and normal. As a teacher, I always feel the weight that these students, whether freshman taking Honors Algebra or Juniors and Seniors studying Precalculus, are flowing in and out of my classroom each and every day for some reason, some purpose.

But part of teaching, like anything else, means slices of your day with less obvious purpose. For example, for one period each day, I do not teach any material, only supervise a study hall for Freshman students.

But it was this small group of freshman that profoundly impacted me this semester. In fact, their impression on me was surprisingly stronger than all my “purposeful classes”, the ones where I taught mathematics, my profession.

It was completely unexpected. I found myself trying to figure out why as I pulled the seating arrangement up in my mind, scanning back over the faces, searching for reasons and explanations for what type of magic they contained. What made them so unique and special? Were they overly outgoing? Not at all. Were they already great friends? No, most were strangers at the beginning.

They were more reserved over all but with a flair and enjoyment of life. Young, and yet in their own way confident beyond their years. Like a slow but steady current, they somehow carved out an entirely special place, an atmosphere both dynamic and remarkably refreshing, one I looked forward to each and every day. Something about them stuck with me, and I am still trying to unravel and dissect it. The only thread that was woven among them all, the thread I keep returning to was that somehow they seemed less tainted by self-focus.

Less me, less mine, more wondering, more open-minded, more willing and more free.

A 23 minute study hall turned into a fascinating little family filled with laughter and smiles, and all sorts of lasting memories.

And if I am honest I never expected that class to be anything other than ordinary and routine.

They were my daily dose of thankfulness. A bright spot regardless of my perception of my performance, my ability, or my impact any given day.

It is humbling. The people who at the beginning seemed less “purposefully placed” in my days, were the very ones who most changed them, daily shifting my focus from me to we.

They reopened my eyes to the foolishness of seeing only some people as purposefully placed.

I almost missed it all, the potential tucked away.

I am starting to look around and wonder if more purpose might actually be hiding behind my haphazard labels of “mundane.”

#thankfulness #purpose