Yikes!

It has been way too long since I've done a good update.

Life has gotten crazy in my new position at work.  I now have 15 (soon to be 16) students from all walks of life, countries and languages.  I have students that have seen or have been raped, seen murder of loved ones, starved, been shot at, nearly killed... I am a counselor of some and a safe place to all.

That weighs heavily on your mind, body and soul.  I believe that without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I feel strong and confident in my own skin because if I am not, the students will see right through me.  Their strength and determination help me to get through the most difficult of times yet my strength and determination help them get through difficulties.

This isn't like teaching in an elementary school classroom; I have my students all day but there is something more magical and special about this.  It is so hard to explain that you almost have to be here to witness it.  I am not a miracle worker by any means and I really don't want to the attention.  I just want others to know that even though it may seem simple, teaching that is, I leave school each day exhausted and broken.  I am not broken because they are winning, I am broken because of stories I hear and the tragedies that have occurred in my student's lives. Each and every day, I get a little more information about their lives before the US.  One student made his way up from Central America to New York ALONE!  I hear that and just want to cry.  Another student witnessed her brother being executed.  How I wish I could take those memories from my students!

I think Eleanor Roosevelt said it best...

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.

Even though I can not take those memories from my students, they are strong individuals that give me hope for our future.