"Never say goodbye . . ."

"Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting.”
~J.M. BARRIE  Peter Pan

Well, it is done I have finished my student teaching and therefore my Bachelor's degree!  So many different emotions have run through me over the course of this last week, but the one that is most prominent is gratitude.  I have changed so much over these last few months; I truly believe that God knew that the people of Nampa could teach me just as much (if not more) than I could teach them!  I cannot think of a single person there that did not change my life in some way or another!  I'm so grateful for all of the people in Nampa and all of the wonderful things they have taught me!

The last few days of classes were some of the hardest for me.  I'm one of those people who HATE with a fiery, burning passion to say goodbye to people!  I just don't like it!  And yet, that was what I was having to say to a lot of amazing and incredible people the last few days.  I had students coming up to me and giving me hugs, cards, flowers, candy, and one student even gave me a blanket that he made!  Through all of it I don't think I actually said the words "goodbye" to any of my students!  Barrie summed it up perfectly in the above quote; I don't plan on forgetting any of these people.  Even if I tried, I don't think I could!  I wish I could put into words what all of these wonderful people have done for me and have taught me, but there are far too many lessons that I have been taught!  These are the five that popped up the most during my time here:

1. Accepting people is different than accepting their lifestyle.  I met a lot of people who didn't live the same standards that I live and who have different opinions on lifestyles.  That is okay!!  I can accept and love people and not accept their lifestyle!  There is a HUGE difference!  God accepts all of His children; He does not always like what we are doing, but He loves and accepts us.  If I am "trying to be like Jesus" then why should I be any different?

2. All bad days come to an end.  I had a lot of bad days!  "Bad days" include things like: bad vocal day, bad teaching day, I broke my tail-bone bad day, and the list goes on.  But, all of those days are in the past; they are done!  I had days where all I wanted to do was curl up in my bed and never come out!  But then that day was done and another day came and it was usually better!  We all have trials in our lives, some more serious than others, but I testify that they come to an end.  God is watching out for all of us and will provide strength to get you through that "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day"!

3. God knows better than I!  This is one that I keep learning over-and-over again!  I wish I would remember it!  I did not want to come to Nampa!  I wanted to go some place besides Utah or Idaho because I spent the majority of my life in both places!  I love to travel and I was excited to get to go someplace besides Utah or Idaho!  But, God knew where I needed to be.  He knew that there would be people there that I needed to meet to change my life (and I hope the other way around).  God knew that, in order for me to become more like Him, I needed these people in my life!  Note to all: God knows better than you do what you need and when you need it!

4. "You are doing better than you think you are doing; but you can do better!"  This is one of my favorite quotes of all time, and it is 100% true!  Going back to the "bad days" thing, I would come home from school some days feeling like I had picked the wrong profession!  I felt like I had made the biggest mistake of my life and that I had wasted 5+ years of my life preparing for something that I was never going to do!  I will be the first to admit that I was not the perfect student teacher!  I made a lot of mistakes!  But, I also know that I worked really hard to do all of the things that I could and to try and be the best student teacher I could be!  I worked my hardest every day and strived to become a better teacher every day!  Every day, I came back a better teacher!  Again, I'm not perfect (nor will I ever be) but I got better!  This same principle applies to every aspect of my life!  I'm not perfect, but I'm striving to be better every day.  I'm doing better than I think I am, but I can also do better!

5. The Power of One.  This really is summed up in the first few paragraphs of this entry; these people have changed my life!  Each person has changed it in one way or another!  I have also been privileged to hear from some of my students the things that I have done to help them.  As a reader, may I just say that YOU have the power to change peoples' lives!  Just by smiling at somebody, by helping them pick up something they have dropped, by buying somebody's dinner at the drive-thru, it doesn't matter!  You change peoples' lives every day!  You matter!

It has not even been a week yet and I miss these people terribly!  Thank you for making me a better person Skyview and Nampa! :)