Slice of Life: A well-timed email from a student

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Last weekend, I gave a talk about the power of teaching. Leading up to that talk, I thought a lot about it, even interviewing a past student, and I've continued thinking about the potential lasting impact of interactions I may have with students. 

Then, this morning I woke up to an email from S. She is a senior in high school, and I mentored her writing spirit for many years. Up until the pandemic, she was part of a group I met with monthly, supporting them as creative writers outside of school. By eighth grade, S. had self-published five (yes, five) novels through Amazon. Here's part of what she wrote:

I'm really grateful I got to be a part of such a fun and creative group and I'll never forget it! It's helped my writing but it's also helped me to grow as a person and is part of the reason why I'm now majoring in creative writing and wanting to go further with it. 

Could we organize a reunion of our writing group, she wanted to know. I've already responded that yes, of course we can find a time for the group to meet again and share plans.

It is starting to feel repetitive and cliché to write that teaching seems hard these days. Sitting in a coffee shop in a quiet peaceful beach town during my spring break, it seems a little easier. I have the space and time to reflect, to plan, to reset, and to organize thoughts and priorities for the final weeks of the school year. And now I have the reminder from a student that sometimes my work makes a difference and inspires writers. I'll let her know how much that means. 

All good things,