Monday, August 3, 2009

Moments that matter

Pin It There are moments.

Moments that occur in our lives which can define us.

It is through these little instances that our lives become intertwined with others, where we mix the colors of our life sketches together for short or extended periods with those which may or may not be family members. It is in these small, perhaps seemingly insignificant moments that we mold ourselves—or even those around us—into the type of individuals we will all one day become.

These are the moments which matter.

I switched on my computer this afternoon and logged into my Facebook account—I wanted to check the activity on the site when I noticed that an old student and boy I’d mentored several years ago had tagged me in a photo. I clicked on the link and was a bit surprised when I was greeted with this image:


I scanned the photo and started to read over the descriptions; as I moved the mouse over the picture, I noticed that names would pop up—squares which had been tagged by people, as friends or acquaintances of theirs who’d fit the description of said box.

When I scrolled over one of the boxes a name popped up I recognized.


The name was mine.

I sat, staring at the screen for several moments in bewildered silence.

I was speechless.

I hadn’t seen the young man who’d done the tagging of this particular image for quite some time; but I thought of many of the experiences we’d had in the mentoring program over the years—all of the good times—as well as the struggles and hardships over the five years I’d worked with him as a young boy growing into adolescence.

I have not been his mentor for a few years now. I have not been his teacher for even more of those years—yet there was something I did which made a difference, something he still remembers.

I am still speechless.

I am reminded of what I said a while ago when someone asked me what my future goals were in regards to my life; to this I responded: I plan to one day take the ultimate photograph, to have a student come back after graduating high school because I made a difference in his or her life, to see each kid in my class feel a sense of belonging, and to get up each morning with a smile on my face and project that into the lives of those around me.

These are the moments…

8 comments:

MindyElias said...

thank you for the reminder....after my last post I was so angry and then, I read yours and the anger is slowly starting to float away.

thank you.

Gerb said...

I found myself thinking of who I would 'tag' on each of those points... it was a great exercise in thought. I should make the time to tell those people what they mean to me more often.

Danielle said...

That's so awesome. Makes me think of my teacher I blogged about last year. I found her again before she passed away. That meant so much to me. I was able to tell her what she meant to me, and I was surprised that she didn't know and hadn't been told that befrore. You're an amazing person, and I'm sure an amazing teacher. You'll have lots of these I can bet.

Corine Moore said...

That is so cool! What a great blog! What a great song! What a great you! :D

Seriously, I think a lot of people would tag you in such a way given the chance.

...so glad you had such a happy happening! :D

Linn said...

I don't think anyone else is surprised. And I definitely don't think it will be the last time it happens. That is just fabulous.

annette said...

Wow. As I read over the first set of tags, I was wondering which one he would have picked for you. As I read on, I was very touched, to say the least. He picked the one of highest praise.

That, my friend, is what life is all about.

Anonymous said...

This is what it is all about for you teachers. I give you lots of credit because although I am a teacher, being a homeschool teacher, I do it for my children and I know that I would not do it for any random child. It takes someone very special to be a public school teacher with passion for the students to succeed.

Teachinfourth said...

I realized that I didn't ever respond to the comments on this page…

Thanks.

Truly.

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