In our Fulbright training and orientations, they warned us again and again about the infamous "W" curve of emotions that we would be facing on this adventurous journey. They told us some days are great, and you're feeling on top of highest peaks of the the "W." Other days you might find yourself down in the valleys. Mostly, I've been hanging out in the peaks and middle ground, but this week, I've felt myself dip down a bit, and that was particularly true today on September 11. The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is always a tough day for me, and being so far from home made it feel a bit tougher. And as I hustled my way through the day, teaching my lessons and dealing with one thing after another, I started to feel a bit sad and homesick, missing my family, my friends, my country.
But the funny thing about life is that if you just open your eyes to focus on the good that's around, your perspective can change really quickly. When I arrived home today and finally took a moment to stop and think, I realized that because I was feeling blue and worrying about my stress, I had missed so many pick-me-ups throughout the day: the student who high-fived me in the corridor on the way to 5th period and said proudly to her friends, "that's my new American teacher," the teacher who I had a good laugh with at lunch when I told her about the new pair of green pants I bought last weekend (note to self: pants = underwear, always say "trousers"), the empathetic moment of silence the school had in memorial of 9/11 today after morning prayers, the two colleagues--who have quickly become my friends--who took me for my first Nandos dinner.
It's a shame what we miss when we forget to open our eyes.
Tonight, I'm counting my blessings for the many pick-me-ups God sent me today. And tomorrow, I plan to keep my eyes wide open for them.
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