The Realization of a Dream

I can't believe that Day One has already come and gone. The hours of planning and dreaming and hoping finally came to fruition and the start of Writers Week was nothing short of phenomenal.

I can honestly say I don't remember the last time I was as nervous as I was this morning, possibly the minutes before taking the court for the NAIA National Tournament, but even that pales in compares. Fortunately, this morning's constant motion and a goal-oriented mindset kept me busy enough to temporarily overlook my knotted stomach and overwhelming desire to throw up. It was time to let go, to let all the planning and preparation take over and just let Writers Week happen. Had I children, I would compare this to watching them walk away from me towards their first day of school, or that moment in which a parent knows they are no longer needed (not unwanted, just not needed...as much). I let go and I watched "my baby" flourish and surpass expectations.

There were so many wonderful moments throughout the entire day. Every student presenter did an amazing job; I was awed by their poise, their presence and the passion with which they read their pieces! Never would I have had the courage as a high school student to stand in front of an auditorium of my peers and share my personal writing! The bar has been set very high for all presenters, and we faculty members should probably be a little nervous! ;)

While more moments will flood my memory as days go by (I'm already looking forward to those days of "Do you remember... " and "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot that!"), these are a few of the moments that come most quickly to my mind at this late hour:

I spent a majority of the first session watching from the hallway outside the auditorium because I was overwhelmed and had to have a few moments to cry. I stood watching an auditorium full of students hang on every word of their peers, in silence, and I listened to strong and confident voices read their writing. I stood watching and listening to my dream take shape while tears rolled down my cheeks.

My dear friend Jessica pulling out a trophy she'd won at a speech contest in high school and discussing how it was symbolic of the struggles and accomplishments of a far-from-perfect childhood. I'm also chuckling at the question (and the answer) of how Jessica and I met. The fact that Dylan skipped school today to watch/support his mom is pretty cool too.

Dr. Jason Sommer making the comment, "People don't care what you think, you have to make them feel in order to care." So true.

Mr. Joye commenting on how much he appreciated Karianna sharing her piece on Jamel's death and that it was a real tribute to Jamel, to have him remembered in an auditorium of 400 students. I agree wholeheartedly, and I teared up.

A student in the audience telling the entire panel of student presenters that he had felt emotionally connected to each one of them when they read their writing and thanked them for sharing with him.

A student saying that Writers Week should happen every week. (A first day response, wow!)
The buzz around the school about Writers Week. Mrs. Raziq told us after school that all she heard about at lunch was Writers Week.

Non-English teachers stopping me to tell me how impressed they were with Writers Week, and seeing that several math teachers signed up to bring their classes to the auditorium tomorrow.
Ms. Chester being upset that she couldn't attend WW today and won't be there tomorrow either. (I don't like the fact she is upset, but that it's about not being able to attend WW.)

Watching comments on this site tonight.

In closing, tonight, I just want to say thank you. Thank you to our presenters, thank you to our student body for being such a great audience, thank you to the administration for allowing this to happen, thank you to the CS department for the support and just being amazing in general, thank you to Mr. Pecka and Mr. Dowdy for all your assistance with the technical aspects (seriously, this would never have happened without the two of you), thank you to Ms. Seibel for helping prepare students for their presentations, and last, but definitely not least, thank you to Mr. J, Mr. Holmes, and Ms. Boyd for putting up with my sleep-deprived craziness and helping me realize this dream!!