Teaching

This Is Not Real

I walked out of the building and just stood there.
This was not happening.
This could not be real.
Just a few minutes ago the examiner had said, “Congratulations, you have passed.”

You see, this “Congratulations” was the last one to a long series of practical and oral exams as part of my teacher training.
And now it is over.
I am a teacher now.
Time to grow up and be a ‘real’ adult.

I can’t really describe how I feel.
I am still dizzy from excitement and a bit giddy that everything went to well.
I am still doubting that this really happened and it’s really over.
And yes (you know me), I am a bit nostalgic.
And era in my life comes to an end. Two decades of learning and training and education. From now on I get to teach and to train and to educate.
This is exciting, but immensely scary at the same time.

Life is full of transitions and changes, and you know what, that’s good.
Time passes by so quickly, and if we’re not careful, it passes us by.
So let’s enjoy now because you can never get it back.

Live in the moment.
Take in the beauty of today.
Spend time with the people around you.
Be thankful for the time that has passed by, for all the goodness you have seen, for all the grace you have received.
For all the treasures you’re able to pass on to the next day or person.

Writing for Five Minute Friday today.

And Yet

Just one small candle, its flame hardly seen against the bright blue sky.
But it was there.
Shining.
Making a statement.

Twenty something students and I had just visited a concentration camp to get a first hand experience what our dark past had been like. The memories of torture, suffering, and death where looming over the hill. The lives of so many who had died here were still somehow present.
And now we were here to remember them.

It was an eerie feeling.
These people had died at the hands of those who no longer seemed to be people.
They were animals.
They had taken away whatever humanity had still been left in the victims and treated them like a piece of waste.
No dignity, no honor, just shame.

Silence.

We remember those who suffered in the past, but realize the suffering of today as well.
The people who are forced into slave labor.
The people who suffer in prostitution or the porn industry.
The many refugees who wait at the gates of Europe and are met with nothing but hatred and spite.
The people who don’t fit into our little view of the world and we so often judge.

People are still cruel today.
Humanity and dignity is lost in so many places.

And yet.

One small candle makes a difference.
As more and more people light candles we come closer together.
We are all individuals, but we are also all together.
And together we can make this dark world a little brighter, a little better.

Writing for Five Minute Friday today.

[Five Minute Friday] Forget

Even though I have warned many of my friends, I still feel bad about what some of my relationships have been like in the last year. When I began my teaching job I told them, “Don’t take it personally if I don’t contact you in months, I just started working. It feels a bit like a bomb has been dropped on me and I have no idea when I’ll get out of that hole.”

When you’re adjusting to a new culture and schedule you don’t have much time for anything else. A lot of things and a lot of people seem forgotten. Yes, I often felt like I’d been forgotten by other people.
But was I really?

Just the other day I was ready to get on the bus around 6.30 am when I got a text. It was from my mom. “Hey, how are you, dear? I just wanted to wish a great day at work, you’ll be great. I love you.”
Not many words, but they brightened my day. They cheered me on. They showed me that I am not forgotten.

Life often wants to tell us that we are forgotten.
That no one really cares about us, we’re just little people in little places.

But the One who created us little people and all these little places does care.
He cares so much that he sends us ‘texts’ every day to remind us.
A beautiful sunrise.
A flowerbed with colorful daffodils reminding us that spring is on its way.
A good conversation with a friend when we just need to talk.
A shoulder to lean on.
A song on your ipod with the lyrics we just needed to hear.
A few words that can turn our entire day around.
You are not forgotten. The Maker of heaven and earth sees your every move and breath, and guess what: He’s smiling.

In case you need some more reminders, listen to this tune.

Writing for Five Minute Friday today. One prompt, five minutes of writing, many wonderful writers to read along. Come and join us!