It's Friday afternoon and as I sit at Starbucks working on a current project for work, I look around and can't help but get lost in it all. People coming and going.. some in a hurry.. some ready to camp out for the afternoon like me. People sitting solo daydreaming, some having business meeting, and others catching up with friends.
It's funny how a coffee shop is a place where people feel comfortable enough to meet and discuss intimate details in love, business, and relationships. As I sit here, I overhear the man across from me talking on his cellphone and he is making a pretty big business deal... a $500,000 business deal. After I hear his phone click, I see him get up and walk to his brand spanking new black Land Rover. Curiosity gets the best of me and I can't help but wonder about this man, his $500,000 business deal, and the lifestyle he must live.
I find people so fascinating. Ever since I can remember my mom use to bring my sisters, brother and I around in the car to "people watch". Weird I know, but we LOVED it! We use to make up stories of how we thought their lives were lived. What they did for a living, what vacations they went on, etc. Our favourite day to go was Christmas Eve. We would look through windows and watch how each household celebrated the holiday. I found it exciting and it always made me happy. Happy to see the smiles and the excitement the holiday always seemed to bring.
Maybe this is why I went into Psychology, then Public Relations, and later teacher's college. All three professions deal with the study of people.
As I grow up, I learn more and more about people and their behaviours. Each of the three jobs I currently work allow me the opportunities to learn more and really understand behaviours. At Community Living I deal with people with disabilities, their families, and employers. At Boston Pizza, I get the opportunity to observe family and friends coming out and enjoying each others company. And finally, while teaching I get to see where it all begins. I learn a lot from these little humans.
Some days can be very challenging in the teaching world but these challenges are really what makes it worth it.
Because of my life experiences and the training I have been blessed to have, I have come to realize that sometimes a child who may show behaviours, may have no control over it. This small person may have an empty belly or a mom that works her butt off to put supper on the table and therefore is hardly present. This small person may not have the basic needs that each person is entitled to and at no fault of their own I might add.
Just because a person acts a certain way does not mean that this person is "bad". They may in fact be struggling and this is their only way of asking for help.
I was very lucky growing up with the family I did. That being said, it was not always easy for my mom and dad. They struggled with money at times and had to ask for help when it got really bad. My mom worked 50+ hours at minimum wage jobs while my dad tried finding a better paying job just to keep us a float. I never went without a meal but my life certainly was not full of thrills and frills.
I believe I am the person I am today because of my life experiences from childhood to adulthood. Everything happens for a reason and a life without struggle is fake. No one can say that their life is and has always been a bed of roses.
My hope is that one day I can, with the help of my experiences, change the lives of children. I know that you can only do so much but I hope I can at least save one life. I hope I can make that life know its worth, realize their dreams and help them achieve them.
Everyone deserves a chance and sometimes they just need someone there to tell them THEY ARE WORTH IT!
