Today, by all accounts, was a good day. I woke up to darkness thanks to Daylight Savings (bleh), enjoyed Atkins-friendly crustless broccoli quiche for breakfast, got to work without incident, prepared my materials for the day, had an uneventful CAPT proctoring experience, and taught all of classes a little more about closely and carefully reading a novel. Once home, I got to run in the neighborhood and even used the MapMyRun app on my phone with success since it would indeed run in the background of my C25K app. I spent some time in the kitchen making Atkins-friendly stuffed peppers and lunches for tomorrow. All-in-all, it was a good day.
Still, my mind was elsewhere during my run today. A student quite innocently asked me a question today. I can't recall exactly what lead to the question, but I do recall my answer. The student asked why I become a teacher. My answer was that I wanted to change the world. When I was attending the university, I thought that it would be simple and straightforward. I thought I would know right away I had done it because my students would tell me before the year was out. Five years into the profession, I have no doubt that I am changing the world, but I have learned that it will happen in small, subtle ways I may not even realize. My clues come from quick hellos from former students, the occasional "I hope I have you again next years," the even more occasional display of caring after I've been absent, and the rare and often sought thank yous from parents and students.
In the meantime, the world I want to change lies outside of the classroom. I want my world to change--I want to feel better and have more energy and to not get sick. Hopefully, despite daylight savings, the diet and renewed zeal for running will do the trick.
