Change

It's been a while. No, I didn't forget. I've been a little busy, to say the least. Teaching has been a wonderful experience, and while I have little to no time for anything else, I have enjoyed every minute of it. As I sit here trying to figure out what to write, I figure what is a better topic than the one thing that has taken up so much of my time?

My kids.

Yes, I call them my kids. I never thought I would be that teacher. I'm not that much older than many of them, but I still think of them as my kids. It's weird, but it is what it is. I enjoy them so much, and I want so much for them.

I want them to love their lives.

They are young, but I try to instill in them this idea that you must always do what you love. To never allow someone else's happiness dictate your own. That someday you will find what you love and that is worth waiting for. Get out in the world and find it because experience changes you, for better or worse. Don't sit back and watch life go by, because as most of us know, sometimes it doesn't last long. Leaving was one of the best decisions I ever made, but coming home has never felt better, either. I want them to know that I love life and that they should do whatever is necessary to love theirs.

I want them to be passionate.

One day, I was giving a speech and afterward, I had a kid tell me, "I can feel your passion. It's kind of cool." I had to smile. I am very passionate when it comes to school. I love teaching. I know this is what I am supposed to do. But I'm not just passionate about teaching. I am passionate about sports. I am passionate about books. I am passionate about philanthropy. I am simply passionate about life. I want those kids to know that in order to be influential in this life, you must show your passion and not care what others think. It is our passion that drives us. It is our passion that creates change.

I want them to care about others.

I have a saying in my class: "I don't tolerate the intolerant." I know, it doesn't really make all that much sense, but it does to me. I teach a unit on the Holocaust, and it is something that I am very knowledgeable about. What students can't understand is why people would treat others that way, and it has been very difficult to teach this. Because how do you teach a group of 14-year-old kids something that you don't completely understand yourself?

I try to convey the idea that at the end of the day, we are all human. We all have the same hopes, dreams, and fears. We should all have the opportunity to live our lives to the fullest and no one has the right to dictate that. Furthermore, we should never allow ourselves to dictate the lives of others. We will never know peace until we understand that people are people. Judging and degrading them doesn't change that. Maybe if I can teach them that they will understand what I mean when I say that I don't tolerate intolerance. Maybe if I can succeed in that, they will want to change themselves, or those around them.

Or maybe perhaps, they'll want to change the world.