Helga the Strong German

A few weeks ago I went to a large in service that brought together all of the elementary school teachers in my hometown. Upon walking into the teacher stuffed cafeteria I couldn't help but have one of those "this is your life" moments. My kindergarten, first grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade, AND gym teacher were all there. Of course, I avoided eye contact completely and made my way to a seat in the back happy that I had dyed my hair and was somewhat incognito... and aged 11 years or so. I was determined not to be remembered. I didn't want anyone to remember my dirty scraggly hair that hung down to my ass for years and years. I didn't want them to remember my jacked up teeth complete with giant gap and black front tooth. I certainly didn't want my fifth grade teacher to see me and remark on the fact that I was NOT a giant as all of the fifth grade teachers had most likely bet on me becoming. I was only an inch shorter than I am today, 5'7", when I was in fifth grade... my family called me "Helga the strong German". Thanks guys.

Shortly after sitting down I realized that nobody knew who I was and if they did they most likely did not care and only remembered me for being a huge bitch-child throughout elementary school so I relaxed. I was trying my hardest to focus on the lecture about differentiated instruction (HELLO! Four entire years of college were dedicated to DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION! WOULD I BE A SPECIAL EDUCATOR IF I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION WAS!?) when a disturbing thought came to mind. I have been out of elementary school for 11 years. Since then I have ventured to the adolescent prison they call middle school, entered high school, became class president (sorry dude who THOUGHT that he was president and I was VP... it was the other way around and I was just too nice to tell you), went to three billion school dances where I found it necessary to put banana curls in my hair and body glitter on every inch of my exposed skin, got accepted to college, went to college, met a guy who had really huge hands that appeared to dwarf beer cans, became a sorority girl, took thousands of hours of classes, road my bike for the other thousands of hours, ate, drank, was merry, participated in four Little 500's, raised millions of dollars for Riley Children's' Hospital, ventured to the coast of Oregon, ventured to Seattle, dragged a teammate around Disney World without allowing food or beverage, graduated from college, and lived 11 intense years! All. While. Those. Teachers. Worked. At. That. School!

While I was moving from school to school and living adventure after adventure, those people were sitting behind the same desk, in the same room, staring out at the same desks, looking at students that were only slightly different from last year's crop, taking their lunch at the same time, coming and leaving work at the same time, and watching student after student move on to the next grade and the next milestone in life. Now, I understand that these people have lives outside of teaching. I understand that they most likely go on vacations, have families, and these things bring the occasional change, but is that enough? I cannot imagine being content for 11 years in one place, and some of these teachers have been teaching for 30+ years!

What is a life without moving all of your stuff from one room to another and into a car and then out of a car and then into a new room and so on and so forth? I have been living that life for four years and like the never ending change that it has brought. I enjoy that I don't know exactly where I'll be in a few months. Will I be in Japan? Will I be in graduate school? What state will I be in? I like that I have the option to go anywhere and do anything. But, there comes a time where that kind of life will inevitably become impractical. The practical thing will be to slow down, pick a spot, pick a job, and sit. Stay. Who knows, maybe one day you will see me in a cafeteria, staring off into space while listening to the same lecture on differentiated instruction for the 30th year in a row thinking to myself, this isn't so bad.