The School of Life

I have been doing a lot of soul-searching and goal setting lately. I have started listing goals on www.43things.com and tracking progress, and this Saturday I'm starting a 100 day program called Co-Creating our Reality.

About a month ago, I posted a goal on 43 things of wanting to volunteer. I had no ideas about how I would do that, simply posted "I want to volunteer". Within a week, a friend of mine asked me if I would help him at ESL classes by volunteering either one or two days a week. I've known him for years, and this is his second year of doing ESL. His wife is my best friend, and she spoke about her husband volunteering there but he had never discussed it with me. Then he came out of the blue and approached me. Synchronicity of the universe.

Anyway, class started 3 weeks ago. I missed last week because we had a birth in the family and I had to go see the baby. So, I've been there twice. I have already grown as a person due to this class. Prior to this, public speaking would be completely impossible for me. Red face, shortness of breath, blank mind, all of that would paralyze me and I could not speak in front of more than a few close people. However, I have had to get up in front of class and tell them about myself. I have had to act out skits with another teacher. I have had to go around the room assisting with punctuation, approaching complete strangers.

I feel amazing. I feel like I am gaining so much self confidence. And the process of teaching an adult to speak English is so interesting to me. I find that I have so much patience with the students. Love pours out of me for them because I am so in awe of what they are trying to accomplish. English is hard! There was a couple in my first class who must have been in their 60's. And they spoke NO English. But they could listen, and they could repeat. And they will learn. That is awesome to me.

I find that I am more open to possibility than I ever have been before. And I am so happy to be where I am right now, and totally willing to go to the next step, whatever that may be.