Graduation

Tonight, I had a first.  My first graduation as a teacher.  I'm not really sure how I feel right now.  It's a huge mixture of emotions.  I'm so glad the school year is over, I'm hopeful for next year, I'm excited for the futures of my students, and I'm going to miss them all at the same time.   No, this year has not been easy.  No, I was not given the warmest of welcomes.  But something struck me in the heartstrings tonight that I will never forget.  The class motto:

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

 

For my students this has a lot of meaning.  When the year started, opportunity wasn't knocking.  They didn't have a music teacher, a guidance councellor, a business manager or an instructional facilitator.  They just lost some of their favorite teachers and a great principal.  Things were not looking good.

For me, the year started with little hope.  I hadn't found a job and was only subbing a few times a month.  I was beginning to think that I was destined for disaster.  That I was stuck in a small town forever, with no hope of my dreams coming true. 

Then this happened:

Carver High School Students Rally against school policy

 

My students decided they had enough and they built a door.  They built a door and opportunity knocked for me.  They had no idea what lie on the other side of that door, nor did I.  And that day all of our lives were changed forever.  Those students unknowingly gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.  They gave me the opportunity to spread my horizons and discover myself as a music teacher.  They have no idea what they've done to my life.  Despite the outrageous number of times that I got mad at them for acting up, I am eternally grateful to the class of 2013 for giving me the chance to change my life.  For them, opportunity wasn't knocking, so they knocked for me.  I hope the answer they got was a good one.  

I will never forget the George Washington Carver High School Class of 2013. 

Congratulations!