Inspiration: Turning the Tables on this Teacher

 In Inspiration

I have the privilege of teaching 3 separate choir classes. It is wildly amusing, completely exhausting, and, often times, totally inspiring.

Here’s the thing: I out-age these kids by at least 15 years (some by far more than even that!), and I am in a place in life where I know enough to feel secure about who I am…most of the time. These kids are in what I would consider to be some of the toughest times in the assault on self-worth. Everything from their newly informed bodies to the media that hounds them is telling them that they have to be more. It would be very easy for them to turn inward and try to blend into the background of life.

But these kids are so very far from just standing back and trying to do enough to make it but not too much that would get them any extra notice. They are shining.

Every week these students fill my classroom and I am in awe of their talent and joy for life. They rise above awkwardness and truly go for it in all they do. Their spirit gives me hope for the future. They’ve shown me that it’s okay to put yourself out there, because there is no shame in trying and failing. I often encourage them to just take the stage and forget self-consciousness. I tell them things that I then need to remember myself. I don’t necessarily love putting myself out there in new situations, but if I don’t, what kind of hypocrite would I be when I then turn around and urge them to do the very things that I’m avoiding?

Take some inspiration from these students. They have every outside force telling them to stay quiet and blend in, but they’re refusing to. They’re standing up, shining, and taking risks. May we all be so bold!

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