It was the 10th of March 2015, and I was driving home from school when I noticed a group of boys playing
basketball in a driveway. I know this might not sound shocking to most of
you but it was odd for three different reasons.
1. It's winter in North Dakota.
2. It seems as though a pickup game of basketball
just doesn't occur on driveways as much as they used to.
3. The most important reason and the inspiration
for this blog post...their season had just ended the night before with a loss
in the first round of the regional tournament.
You see, for these guys
the season started the day after it finished. The loss they experienced the day before was not going to
be their defining moment. The drive to keep going and to get better was
rich within them. What they had done and what they were currently doing
was preparing them for what was to come.
This story is a great
metaphor for life. How many times have we given up? How many times
have you wanted to throw in the towel? How many times have we allowed
ourselves to become complacent and accept the status quo?
It's important to keep
going. Never take off your jersey. As educators this time of year
is often accompanied by a sense of relief. We get to sit back and enjoy
the summer. We can take off our jerseys and throw caution to the wind.
It’s okay to feel this
way, but don't take off your jersey. You have an obligation to
reflect, recharge, and refocus. Now is the time to make sure the next
school year is better than the previous. Now is the time to grow.
As I currently sit in my
office for the last time at Griggs County Central, I'm thinking about those boys
shooting hoops that day. I, like them, believe the season is just
beginning. I get the opportunity to wear a new jersey in a different
arena. As I make the transition from one school to the next, I have set a few
goals for myself.
1. To continue to show people that they matter. We all have God given talent. We
are all great at something. It is our duty as humans to do our best to
make this world a better place. Why not start with letting someone know
that they matter? Give someone a compliment every day. Better yet
compliment people all the time.
2. To grow in faith. I’ve always considered myself to be a
religious person. However, I like many, tend to keep my faith and beliefs
to myself. I’m excited to become more extroverted with it. I know
that my teammates at Shiloh Christian will be a great help with this.
What are your goals for
the coming year? Setting goals will help ensure that your jersey stays
on. Remember that it is completely okay to reflect and recharge before you refocus.
But don’t stop being who you are. Keep your jersey on. Continue to
make each day better than the previous. You have something to offer this
world.
Since we are on the theme of basketball, feel free to live by the
following quote that was once told to me by my basketball coach; “shoot
until you are on, and then shoot until you are off.” This
way you are constantly shooting uand moving forward. This might
explain however why we didn’t win too many games. J
Blog explained in one paragraph.
I bet you are a little
perturbed that you see this paragraph. You could have scrolled down and
read this one paragraph without going through the whole thing. Of course,
you can take your jersey off and wash it. However, I and some of you were a little superstitious
when we were younger, weren’t we? We didn’t wash our socks or our
practice jersey because we were afraid to break the streak. The jersey is
a metaphor for who you are and what you do. If this confused you, I
apologize. I may need to take a moment to reflect, recharge, and refocus.
