Last Sunday was the 8th grade graduation ceremony. It was very well done and it was pretty emotional. I was the 8th grade English teacher, and over the course of the year, I built a pretty strong bond with them. Anyways, towards the end of the ceremony, the 8th graders were given three roses to give to people that they wanted to thank. This is a tradition the school has made and the students were asked to consider who they would like to present the roses to during the ceremony. Most of the kids gave them to a parent, grandparent, family member, the principal, or someone else that had helped them along the way. Just a few teachers were presented with them. I was one of them.
Each student had to list the people they were giving the roses to as they stood in front of everyone. Then they had to say a little bit about why they were giving each person their rose. The last student to go up and do this was a girl named Myeshia. She was one of my English students with a real knack for writing. She had a way with words that constantly reminded me of my own creative spirit. I would always tell her that she had such talent and she should stick with writing. I shared my own love for writing with her, while letting her know how much I believed in her ability.
She came up to the microphone, and as I sat in the audience, I heard her say "I'd like to give a rose to my mother, my grandmother, and Mr. Daley." I immediately felt a rush of emotion. I walked up to the stage and by the time she finished her description of why she was giving me a rose, I was fighting back tears. She said something like:
"I'd like to give a rose to my favorite teacher, Mr. Daley. He has helped me to see that I am a good writer and poet. He has helped me with my writing and always believed in me. He was a cool teacher and he has had a huge impact on my life. I will never forget him."
That moment was one of the best I've ever experienced in my 23 years of life, and I mean that with the utmost sincerity. For once, I felt that I had accomplished something great. Instead of just seeing the rose as a gift, I saw it as an answer. It was an answer to the question I've been debating for so long. The question of career choice and what I really need to do with my life. I finally felt a new confidence that teaching was it. A 14 year old girl said that I had a huge impact on her life and that she would never forget me. She saw that I believed in her. I supported her and taught her enough for her to recognize that there's greatness in her. As a teacher, that's all you can ask for. As a person...a 23 year old...it's more than I ever would've expected. The whole ride home from graduation, I cried. It wasn't sad, but for whatever reason, the great feeling that this experience gave me warranted tears. I didn't fight it in the confines of my car though. I just went with it. I knew that this was big for me. I still get emotional thinking about it.
A week later and school's out for summer. The last week was a breeze and it was great to spend some time with the kids in a more relaxed classroom environment. I'm definitely looking forward to next year. Now that it's summer, I have the time to do the things I've been putting off all year...like writing. I guess this was just a warm-up.
- Daley
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