love & work

never thought i'd see the day where i wax lyrical about my job. but it's truly a place i've grown so attached to, not the purview of work itself but the human factor. student adoration aside, it's really about how each day seems to be significant in personal validation and spiritual edification.

just the other day i spent a civics session in the dance room putting them yoga poses to help them ease the stress of exams etc. it was amusingly innocuous enough, until i see them discuss it on fb that it made them feel 'shuang' haha. then my colleagues have been so warm and wonderful in helping me from anything under the sun, even zahara went to the trouble of leaving me a note on how to get jil medical benefits.and when i teased her thanx for the love note she replied across the room, i love you. aww

today while collecting moolah for lit texts next year, mich the korean student came up to me shyly and handed me a hardcover book, telling me it's a belated teacher's day present.moved to say the least, esp her heartfelt words inside lauding me as a 'sacred teacher' haha must be some direct translation of korean syntax. i guess these gestures are not about the admiration, which i know is merely shallow, but that i'm doing something of value here. i feel it even in the moments when it occurs, while sharing an anecdote, a philosophical concept, an inane joke, just the reaction on their faces speaks volumes. i never used to look at my students' expressions when i teach because i find i'm not engaging but merely imparting. these days i really take my time to work the room, pause, smile toothily, laugh at their response heartily. it's these classroom encounters which truly make me feel like i'm doing something right. and when they feedback things like your class is the only one they feel they're learning/enjoying because of my unconventional approach to it, i feel completely correct.

even consults which i used to dread because they can drag for hours. i enjoy the intimate level of connecting with them, even beyond the syllabus, and i know they simply appreciate the listening ear. no other job has such intrinsic rewards because everything here is so spontaneous and real. good work days are rare but i think i've become so much more appreciative of its healing and rewarding elements. i even joshed with a bunch of kids today, don't let your personal stuff get in the way of your goals ok? did you know i was going through a break-up when we met for our first classes, to their surprised rejoinder, no m'am, you seemed like you were having so much fun it was infectious. aww again. gotta love kids this age and their artlessness. it certainly beats the duplicitous nature of those who graduate and think they own the world.