Sharing My Passions

In my Creative Writing class, we began studying poetry last week. At first, I was cringing this unit. Teenagers don't exactly jump up and down at the opportunity to read and/or write poems. As I started preparing, I promised myself I would make it as exciting painless as possible. Overall, I think it's gone pretty well. Tomorrow, we will begin talking about political and society based poems. Because I love history, I'm looking forward to hearing their responses to the literature. 

As I'm prepping my lesson tonight, I started reading about women's suffrage and war memorials (riveting material, I know). I started thinking about the things I feel passionate about. No, I'm not talking about my friends and family. I'm talking about worldly issues that I take to heart. I thought I would share some of my passions: 

-- Education: I suppose this is a given since I am a teacher, but it's much more than that. Yes, my career is centered around teaching students, and I do care about their grades; however, I care much more about the people they are becoming. To me, education is not just about the earned grade. It's about teaching students to become productive members of society. It's about them creating lives that are rich and full of continued learning. 

-- Women's Rights: You may not know it, but I deeply considered a minor in Women's Studies. I loved each class I took and felt empowered and passionate about equality for everyone. I'll never forget when one of my favorite professors said, "We're more alike than we are different." I hold onto that as I embrace opportunities and meet new people. 

-- Children of Haiti: After traveling to Haiti and working with the children there, I fell in love. The spirit of the people there was encouraging and contagious. They don't have much, but they care and love one another. Things aren't perfect there. Much of the people suffer from poverty and disease. Children are living in huts with very little to eat or drink. They walk miles in order to receive an education. After studying, they return home to work for their families. I met some incredible people there. I didn't speak the same language as them, but there is one language that we all speak: love.