Together, we can be great.

It’s been weeks since I’ve written anything substantive in this ol’ blog, mainly because my time, energy and brainpower are finite resources, and with a To Do list as exhausting as mine, writing an online journal sadly drops to the bottom of the priority queue. But I don’t want this to fall by the wayside because if there’s one thing I’ve learned so far, it is this; in the face of life’s greatest challenges, communities are critical to our sanity and survival. I cannot make it on my own. I need my family, friends, colleagues, managers, acquaintances, students and spirit to encourage me. I need relationships and smiles to make me feel like I matter – like what I’m doing is not so insane, not quite impossible – like my effort and attitude will suffice to move these mountains.

Four months ago, at 30,000 feet, I wrote this in a cross-continental reflection.

I am not great

I am nothing without friends

I am nothing without family

I am nothing without others

I am nothing without Him

Only with them

Only with Him

With God

Can I be great

Clearly there are hints of religion present in the piece, but what I am focused on tonight are the “others” I refer to. People. People matter. The way we interact and appreciate people, the way people can sustain us and inspire us; these are some of the wondrous lessons I’m continuing to absorb.

Wednesday was probably my worst day ever as a teacher. Two days later, I can’t explain why exactly, but I just know that the attitudes of my students were off, and my response to their attitudes was misguided, resulting in an essentially awful day that left me befuddled. Thursday was much better. Today was somewhere in between.

But something miraculous occurred on Wednesday night. At the peak of my despair, out of the blue, I received an email from an old colleague at my office, just checking up on me. I also received a text message from a random friend across the country, and a missed call from my mother. It sounds goofy, but it overwhelmed me. There are countless people out there who I know are rooting for me, who want to help me, who support me. It is a joyous feeling, a humbling feeling. You can do it, they whisper to me. I can do it, I think to myself.

So thank you for your support, I guess. Thank you for reading this blog and being interested in what I’m doing. Maybe soon I’ll have the energy to give you more details about the challenges I face each day – but for now, I wanted to focus on what is most important at this moment. And it is the people. It is you. I say that with as much humility and sincerity as I can conjure. You fill me with great joy. Together, we can be great. Thank you.