Uplift yourself

There is an empty silence where the recent graduates' classrooms are.最近の卒業生の教室には空音なしがある。

— Johnny Mendoza Govea (@JohnnyInJapan) March 18, 2013

This week, I'm finishing up my lessons with the remaining students at my school. While my former 3rd Year students are preparing for their next challenges as either high school students or new members of the workforce, I continue to teach as a Junior High English teacher. Thinking of these young adults blooming into awesome human beings makes me proud and also very happy to know that they will succed!

* * * *

I found myself, the best spirations of myself, when I took this path. I was hesitant at first, being that I also had ambitions of becoming an actor and a writer. It turns out I can channel my talents here in the profession of teaching and have just as powerful an impact as I might have on an audience. Possibly the impact is greater since I can help shape my students' view of "foreigners" AKA non-Japanese people, the fun of English and maybe even the validity of being fair in order to achieve personal happiness.

They too have taught me. A lot, in fact. My students have shown me how to laugh heartily at my own humanity and how to enjoy the smallest of characteristics. They've guided me to offer answers with clarity, brevity and significance. I tend to get lost in the details of life and my students have given me ample chances to step back from myself when coordinating their next lessons with other teachers. They've also reminded me of how is was to be a teenager and the universality of the time's confusion and self-exploration. In short, my students have allowed me to keep it real.

It's always a possibility that I'll write children's books someday or that I'll act in a community theater or independent film. Yet, I hold these seeds close until the right timing to plant them has arrived in its due course. In the meantime, I'll learn, teach and discover more about the magnificient world and all of its blessings. I'll share it with Lilica and my wifey and of my family with full commitment and stamina. I'll be the change that I seek.