Meeting Seventeen at the car dealership

It was the day before Christmas Eve and I was at the dealership getting my car checked because it was making strange noises. Luckily it was not a big deal so I was just getting some fluid drained and changed. I was hopeful I would be able get out of there quickly so I could get on my way.

That all changed when I heard my name. Hesitantly, but sounding pretty sure they knew me. I looked up from the table where I had spread out some grading I needed to finish, and saw a woman I sort of recognized. I knew she was too young to be the parent of a student but I couldn’t put my finger on where I knew her from.

For several years I taught in a summer program at a local university for gifted children. Seventeen had been one of my former students. I met some of the most engaged, dedicated learners I’ve ever run into during that program. They were selected by their teachers from schools all over the city so groups of two or three students knew each other at the beginning of the summer, but by the end of the summer the whole cohort knew each other and those relationships grew summer after summer. I sincerely loved working with those groups of students every year.

When I finally recognized Seventeen I was thrilled to see her looking well and happy. Once she started to talk about her life I was so impressed I literally started to tear up. She was working for a local candidate for public office who had won state level elections and Seventeen had been working on supporting like minded candidates and helping people make informed decisions. She had done amazing things with her young life and I was so proud of her.

Then she told me what my teaching had meant to her. That’s when I actually cried. I never expect to hear that kind of feedback from students because I have primarily taught elementary and middle school students and by the time they get through high school and college they’ve had impactful classes that have changed their lives and sent them in a direction that leads them into adulthood. Those are often the teachers that stand out. Which is fine, I know what I do has meaning and I love it and that’s enough for me, but every once in a while kids will come back and tell me what it has meant to them to have me as a teacher and those are days I cherish.

What Seventeen gave me, ten years after teaching her, was a reminder that sometimes students may not remember you specifically, but every once in a while they do and it is amazing what a difference that makes. What Seventeen didn’t know was that I had a hard class that year and I felt like I was treading water. I desperately needed the Christmas vacation to get myself back in the right mindset. However, that once conversation about Seventeen’s goals and her life and how she was literally living her dreams did more for me than any time off could have. There is a difference between being physically tired and being emotionally tired and rest helps if you’re physically tired but only relighting your passion will help you if your heart is tired.

Now, when I feel myself getting tired I know to figure out what kind of tired it is and give my body and my heart what they need. Thank you Seventeen.