Orange

A couple of weeks ago I noticed that the LSU Lady Tigers were going to be taking on the Tennessee Lady Vols here in Baton Rouge. I was pumped because one of my former BHS students, Draya, is a freshman Lady Vol, and I of course wanted to see her. After a little bit of Twitter communication between the two of us, she was sweet enough to reserve me a ticket and we made plans to meet briefly after the game.

Don't get me wrong...I really do like the job I have right now. It is manageable, enjoyable, and affords me the balance that I think I need right now in this season of life. HOWEVER, if you asked me what I miss most about teaching high school, it would be the bond that teachers share with their students -- the bond that is created from seeing them for 55 minutes a day over the course of a school year, from attending their activities, from chatting with them in the hallway, from watching students achieve their goals...whatever those goals might be. (Also, high school students are FUNNIER.)

But anyway, Draya wanted to be a Lady Vol for almost her entire life. When she was in my AP Language class, she would use the Lady Vol basketball program (specifically Pat Summitt) as an example in her essays whenever the opportunity would afford itself. And while she had wonderful coaches and opportunities to develop her talent as a basketball player, she also worked tirelessly toward her dream and did everything in her power to make it happen. And it did.

So to see her walk out in her orange last night was a big proud teacher moment for me. I am in NO way responsible for any of her success (maybe I helped improve her already-strong writing abilities? maybe?), and we really just keep up with each other via Twitter (social media is crazy, yo), but seeing someone living her dream? There's just something cool about that.