Next Generation Thinkers
I had the privilege of speaking at my old elementary/middle school during their honors breakfast this past week. Walking around and exploring the changes in the school brought me back to a simpler time, a time when nothing mattered besides sports, friends, and video games. Many things hadn’t changed such as the lovely stench of vinegar in the science room, the voice of my 8th-grade teacher booming down the hallways, and the anxiety I received walking into the English classroom. For those that don’t know, English is not my goodest subject…:😅 The honors breakfast serves to praise those students who have shown academic excellence throughout the entire school year and encourage them to continue down a path of success. It was extra special since my younger genius brother was invited to the breakfast and this was an opportunity to make him proud of potentially embarrassing him in front of his friends, definitely going for the former. Before talking with any of the kids, I knew that each one of them possessed a unique gift. As a group, they portrayed discipline, perseverance, intelligence, resilience, and many more amazing attributes. The kids were a joy, whether they were smiling, laughing, focused, or staring off into space, they seemed genuinely entertained by what I had to say. There were a couple of kids in particular whom I watched their faces light up during our talk. Just thinking about this gives me goosebumps because of how cool is it to have an impact on the next generation of academic thinkers. These are the individuals that may find the cure to all cancers, create the next Amazon, solve global warming, etc.
Now that I am older and ever so slightly more mature, I realize how important these moments are for the kids. They must have amazing mentors such as their teachers to help build up the foundation on which they will lead the rest of their lives on. These students probably have not realized this yet, but their teachers have given them all of the tools necessary to become wildly successful and achieve their craziest dreams. Not only do I envision them shaping the future, but they will change the world someday. Times like these open my eyes to how blessed I have been with teachers who sacrificed their time and poured endless amounts of energy into my studies. I fully believe it’s possible to accomplish great things on your own, but when you have a team of mentors/teachers/role models supporting and guiding you through the trenches, only then will you be able to achieve the impossible! A big thank you to all of the teachers whose goal and mission each day is to impact these kids so they can one day experience success!!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject, please reach out to me with any comments at theonlyCV@yahoo.com
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