The writing, which turned into such powerful spoken words, that Ceci and Nathan fostered in the classroom, combined with the artistic efforts of Brittney, one of our brilliant art teachers, led to such an amazing product on the behalf of the students.
I would like to share the page with the podcasts from the 8th graders and a number of SIS staff so that you may also play a role in this authentic writing experience. The students would be totally thrilled to hear feedback from all of you, which you can leave at the bottom of the page when you click on a specific podcast. Check out the broad and beautiful beliefs of our students here: http://share.sis.org.cn/podcasts/
The following is the text of my podcast:
I believe in pivotal moments.
What have I come to know about this statement? This I ask myself as I sit at my kitchen table in Shenzhen, China. China. How did I get to China? You know, my plan was to land once again in South America, after spending my three years in Ecuador. Three years in Quito that was supposed to be only 2 years, because my plan was to return to Minnesota after that short contract, to return to my family and friends, and to return to a job that I enjoyed, working with people that I loved.
Even before teaching in Ecuador, my plan was to get married and to start a family. That almost became my reality. It is taking some courage right now to tell you that it took a lot of reflection and a therapist to help me see that it was my intuition pushing me to end the engagement. When I first started feeling scared about the whole “I do” I had coined it my anxiety, a really early case of cold feet. Discerning between anxiety and intuition has been part of my life’s work, but I did figure it out before I walked down that isle. Certainly a pivotal moment.
In listening to my intuition, I broke with what I had considered my path. Over the next months after that breakup, I got more in tune with myself, and with my own instincts. It is not ever easy to break with conventions. Once I found my truth, though, my heart felt right again.
And some months later, I began preparing my resume for the international job fair in Iowa. I found myself signing a 2-year contract with Colegio Americano in Quito, Ecuador. I promised everyone the plan was 2-years, and no more, but when it came time to tell my school if I was staying or going after that 2nd year, I could not picture leaving for good. So I signed on the dotted line for a third year, believing I would fulfill the promise to return home for good the following summer.
And then I was into that third year in Quito, and the time came to tell my school if I was staying or going. This time, I that knew I was going, that Ecuador had offered me deeper insights into myself and into my surrounding world. But I could not ignore the pulling on my heart to stay abroad. So I searched and I emailed all of the schools in Latin America that I wanted to work with. And my hopes were high. And my resume was strong. And my letters of recommendations were shining … and I heard nothing back. No words from Argentina, nor Mexico, nor Chile nor Columbia. Tension and worry increased in my body and mind as the next step on my path was yet undetermined.
And then I opened my email one morning to find a note from a school in China, in a city called Shenzhen. It was a school I had never heard of nestled within a smaller community situated in that sprawling metropolis that I had not known existed. This was all part of a country I had proclaimed I would never live in. This was the beginning of yet another pivotal moment, though that was yet unknown to me.
I decided to take the interview offered me. For the sake of practice, nothing more.
Nothing more, right. Except that nothing turned in to everything. Everything that my present reality is is because once again my original plans were broken. Everything that sits before me today I credit to following my intuition, to having goals, but letting go of plans, and to trusting that when previously unforeseen opportunities present themselves, one is wise to take advantage of them.
The Universe has a way of doing this thing, this thing where It takes my plans and interrupts them. And this thing where my plans are disrupted, it pushes me beyond my comfort zone, time and again. It places new faces in front of me, where new friendships are forged. It makes me have to breath deeply and find the grittiest part of my soul.
So I don’t believe in predestination, and I do not believe in throwing caution to the wind. But I believe in the Universe, and I believe that there is a bigger purpose, and in order to fulfill that purpose, I must be open. To change, to struggle and to the ever shifting path that is set before me.
This I believe, I say as I gaze out onto the brightly lit skyscrapers in the Shenzhen night sky.
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| photo credit to Peter Hennigar follow him on Instagram at phennigar to see amazing photos of real Asia |
