A Drop in the Bucket

Some days the kids I teach are with me, and some days....well, let's just say they're not. Yesterday was one of those days. I walked into the AVID class I teach, the senior-level course geared towards first-generation college goers in order to help them matriculate through a four year university system. Yah, that one.

I walked into class excited because their FAFSA form was due, that Wiley little bugger that allows most financial aid to come their way, and I could  taste the progress about to be made that would continue to pave their lives towards their future.

Upon opening the door, I had three students who, before saying "Hi Mrs, Robbins, how is your day?" Or even before a simple, "Hello Mrs. Robbins," they blurted "I don't have my FAFSA form!!" Point-blank range, no warning, just blurted it out, all three one after the other in rapid fire.

Here's the thing: since these kiddos were freshmen I have told them I don't want to hear about their problems, I want to hear how they will solve it. Most of the time these students get this and work to resolve whatever issue they have in order to move forward, but not yesterday.

Needless to say, I kind of lost my cool and here's why. I have high hopes for my students. There are kids in this class who want to be doctors, some who want to be lawyers, a couple who want to be teachers, and some who would like to go into business. We have worked hard the last three years to understand that with lofty goals, comes a lot of work with great payout.

My students forget from time to time that piece of the puzzle about hard work. They forget that hard work is not about one big push and then you're done. I wonder if they realize that hard work is what we continually sustain on a daily basis.

Hard work is created by those small things we do every day. All those moments when we would like to vegetate in front of the TV and we choose not to. All those times when we want to sit and just hang out with friends, but we don't. Sometimes we sit in the doctor's office (as I am now) and we want to look at trashy magazines, but we don't. It is these every day decisions that constitute hard work, never letting go of our goals, never letting in to our id, that piece of our ego that tells us our effort is a waste.

I tell my daughter that every day is an interview, that we never know how someone may perceive us may affect our future. This above all else, is what I want my AVID students to take away from their time with me. Life is not a dress rehearsal, it is always on, it is always real, and most of the time whether we know it or not, there is always a audience watching.

Tomorrow is a new day. We will begin our class new and fresh and I know I, for one, will be ready for curtain call.