Perhaps it was the energy of completing something that I never thought I would, or maybe its the peace of mind of having something behind you and the renewal of opportunity when the next door opens.
Maybe it's just because I hated school so much, that every "last day" was a day closer to me moving to New York to be a big star on Broadway.
Things change when you are the teacher. (Most of the Time)
Today was one of those "Last Day's" that I wished that I could have had a few more days of.
Each semester I continue My work with SFK in some capacity. Usually in the Youth/Teen division. Last year I had the opportunity to teach two groups of young men (13-19) at Rikers Island and this year the same principle that wast there invited us to come to his new location, The Brooklyn Residential Center.
The residential center is a home which houses young ladies who have been incarcerated for a previous period of time and allows them the opportunity to "get their feet wet" before heading back into the main world again. The girls are still incarcerated, but are treated with a little more freedom by allowing for home visits and for parent visitation.
I have learned in this line of work to take a very "Anything Goes" approach to what we do. There are reasons for that too, trust me. We have our days. Today, the last day, certainly was one of them.
Upon arriving to the location, we learned that one of the residents had gone AWOL. In doing so, she tied six bedsheet's together, busted the bars off her bedroom window and managed to escape nearly 4 stories below.
A remarkable fete I commented.
It was obvious that she planned the whole thing very carefully.
Things happen for a reason, ya know. This is no different.
In our class, as we said good bye with pretty pink cupcakes and some pop music, you could see the wheels spinning in our ladies heads.
Always open for an opportunity, I let them hash it all out. Several of them were rather proud of their "Superhero" sister that got away. But the majority of them had some incredible insight that suggested that our last 10 weeks there was not in vain. The comparison to what they had learned in our class vs. the choice their "Escape Sister" made, was unbelievable. One of them even pointed out that maybe if she could have been in the class longer, she would have thought differently.
"The chick that got away" I told them, "was brilliant" They looked at me puzzled. I went on to tell them that she is incredibly powerful and smart. The problem was what she was doing with all those gifts. If she could only transform them from her own selfish choices and use them for the good of others, with "skillz" like that, she could be in the CIA one day.
Their eyes got really wide when I said that. One of the more honest ones said "You know something, Daniel. You are right. We could. But I know, for me, it's easier here. I think it's comfortable to live the negative lifestyle."
Always a sucker for one's honesty, I thanked her and gave her this analogy that my teacher once shared with me;
"Image that you are going to the movies. You have everything you need to have a good time - a friend, some popcorn, some juju beads. The movie starts, and about 10 minutes in you know it's gonna be really crap movie. However, next door you can hear everyone oohing and ahhing at the latest James Cameron blockbuster that you have not seen yet. What do you do? Do you sit there and watch your crap movie, or do you get up and go see the better one?"
"I'll go see the bettah one" She said. They all agreed.
"The life you are living now is that first movie" I continued. "That movie playing next door, is the movie your life could be, if you made some different choices"
"How" she inquired with great interest.
"Take the first step. Get up and move. Make a conscious choice that you want the movie of your life to be a blockbuster"
"Wow" "I just got everything you been teaching me" She said as she starred at me in amazement.
There was a long pause, as I watched the wheels turn in her head.
They were incredibly great full for the time we shared with them. In their own special way, they each pledged to work hard to transform and not make the same choices again.
This is the part where I tell you, that this makes it very hard for me to accept the fact that it's 'The Last Day of School".
But I did, and I let go knowing that they are in the hands of the universe.
Let go. What a lesson for a day full of Scorpio energy!
To learn more about Success For Kids visit www.sfk.org
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Now onto Saggitarius;
Sagittarius – Stand up for Something You Believe in. Don’t be Complacent.
Tips for the month of Sagittarius
· Practice forgiveness
· Look out for details
· Make a commitment and stick to it
· Analyze the whole situation before making a decision
· Be more sensitive to others; watch what you say
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