A moment of Thanks...

So, I find it hard to blog as much as my cohorts.
I hope that it is alright with my readers...
But I want substance rather than lots of crap on here...
So we wait...til the "AH HA" moment arrives and then I type...

So I have just made it through a lengthy weekend of rest and relaxation...
A weekend of Thanks...
A weekend of family...
A weekend of closeness, laughter, fun, and connecting.

I am thankful for so many things in my life this year.
I took a few moments, over the weekend, to look back and am in awe at where I am today...in comparison to where I was a year ago. The only thing I can compare it to is a complete rollercoaster ride. And I am humbled. And I am blessed. I am a man who has taken a new journey and feel so much better for it.

Scared to death?? Absolutely!
Tired and beaten down? You bet.

But this is an avenue that I also feel such accomplishment, such great responsibility to the young minds I have in my grasp, a responsibilty to teach these young people about the power of theatre, the power of the spoken word to a student who may or may not have experienced anything like it. To hold up a mirror to the face of American student and show them what they can accomplish IF they put their minds to it.

Are the minds of today's young people different than when I was in school? ABSOLUTELY! There are times when I get so frustrated with my students...at their laziness, their inability to perform a function that I consider not so difficult, placing hurdles in their way that I know they can handle and they stumble...it is in those frustrating moments that I have to remind myself that the thought process of today's youth is a much different mind set than when I was in school. I would never allow myself to lacksidasically forget this or that...or just not do the assignment...that was NEVER an option. I got the job done. This is not the case with today's youth.

I have heard many of the teachers around me regretfully admit that they have found themselves "dumbing" or "watering" down their requirements or expectations. In my own assessments, I had considered this. But my mentor has encouraged me to not succumb to this... and I agree...I refuse to not stretch the minds of today's youth...lowering my expectations to formulate a program that cowtows to the lower level learners, leaving the higher level learners to serve as co-instructors. I just will not do it...
So...with that said...my step-mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year...and as I looked back...and contemplated what I have accomplished, where I have come and where I want to go in 2010, I told her, "You know? For the first time in my life, I feel absolute CONTENTMENT. I could not ask for more."
Well maybe...World peace...and Matthew McConaughey...