inspired

instead of having to be in the classroom today, all of the student teachers had to attend a class at ASU all day. at first, i wasn't thrilled about it, but i was excited about the possibility of getting to sleep an extra hour!

but instead of having to sit in a boring lecture (which is what i thought it would be), we got to attend a women's conference that one of the education professors put together. the name of the conference was discovering your greatness. it wasn't just for teachers, but for working women in general. and it was W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L.

*on a side note, the male student teachers just loved it. i could totally see the excitement in their expressions. hahahahahaha*

my favorite speaker was the texas education agency's secondary teacher of the year, nika maples. words can't even begin to describe what an amazing person she is. i sat in awe through two of her speeches (she also spoke exclusively to the student teachers after the conference was over). needless to say, she got a standing ovation twice.

she made us cry (if you know me at all, it doesn't take much for me to cry), and she made us laugh (even less). but most of all she inspired us. she spoke of being the kind of teacher that students come back to visit. she had one former student, a marine, who came to visit her after he found out that he was going to iraq. he went to see her because he wanted one last hug from her. in case you're wondering, that's where i started crying.

she admonished us to live the life that we have now, even if the life we have is not exactly how we want it. after all, she never wanted to be diagnosed with systemic lupus. but do you see that holding her back?

i left today wanting to maximize the rest of the weeks i have left in student teaching.

oh God, help me.