Day 2/Free Write Challenge - Prize: 35.55 SBD and a Chance to Win SBI - [this is hard and special needs gymnastics program]
If you haven't checked the Daily Prompt yet....
Prompt: paper
SERIOUSLY?! Paper? What the hell do I have to say about paper? I'm going to have to walk away and come back later....
Hm. Still nothing. I keep starting and stopping my timer. I'm at 4:36 to go still. Longest 24 seconds of my life.
Ok I'm back. (It's 8 Hours later)
After a quick search for all my photos containing paper, this gem popped up:
My first "real" job after college was at Gourmet Magazine. When it folded, I went back to doing what comes naturally to me: coaching gymnastics. In a roundabout way, it landed me my next salaried position at a law firm as the exec. admin to one of the founding partners. Said partner had a child enrolled in a private school for children with special needs and I finagled my way into being able to leave my desk job three times a week to teach two classes at the school.
Through gymnastics, I was able to help this small group of kids expand their social skills and have a better awareness of the mind/body connection. We built their confidence together by teaching them the cool tricks gymnastics has to offer all while building muscles they never knew they had. In turn, they not only felt incredibly able with their new skills but I also built in ways for them to have to rely on each other and work on communication and team building throughout each exercise. By the end of each semester, every child had their chance at being the teacher for a small portion of the class. I brought their parents in to be the "students" and I couldn't have been more proud of everyone's accomplishments when I saw them leading their parents in donkey kicks across the gym. Not only comfortable in being the center of attention to a group of 20+ kids and adults, but also showing compassion when the parents got it wrong - gently correcting and giving examples of how to be a gymnast.
What started off as warnings to me from other teachers - you don't want Jane Doe in your class, she's too disruptive - John Smith can't handle your class, there is too much stimulation for him - Jack Black is too this, she's too that, she bites, he has too many trigggers blah blah blah - turned into awe as they each in turn asked me what my trick was to handling the "problem" kids. The honest truth is I didn't have a trick. I went into class as blindly about these kids as they did about me, their new teacher. I treated them as regular kids, explained myself when they looked confused and slowly but surely I earned their trust. From there on out, it was easy. Use their energy in a positive way BEFORE the volcano erupts. There were some days where I had them running and jumping and rolling until their energy was exhausted and other days where it was OK to slow down and work on the social part. Just like any other human being, we have moods.
This was by far the most rewarding work I've done so far in my life, but unfortunately, my boss ended up leaving the law firm to start up a brand new practice and with him went my ability to leave my desk and still retain my salary. During our last class, one of the kids presented this petition to me. I couldn't quite explain that the reason I could no longer continue the program wasn't for political reasons, but more that I could not afford to live off of teaching only 6 hours a week. I should probably mention that while I'm an extremely qualified gymnastics coach, I have zero formal training when it comes to academics.
Hopefully one day I'll be able to get back to this program without having to worry about finances.
And I was just about to say what the fuck five minutes, when are you up? And then I realized my phone still says 4 minutes something. Great. I forgot to press GO again.
This free write was painful. I don't know where my creative flow is to just write a story or make something up! And I'm definitely tapped out for a creative selfie. Soooo......
This jar is full of all the little important pieces of paper that @nutinbutdatruth and I have collected on our journey together. Like the soap box from our first B&B weekend away together, the $5 he rolled up our first blunt we smoked together on....that kinda stuff.
@mariannewest has anyone dropped out yet? I still don't want to be the first but man, this 5 Minutes took me all day! LOL
XO
Christie
Your working with those kids sounds amazing and I bet you're someone they will never forget!
BTW, your selfie is beautiful and I love that you've collected a jar of special papers!
Thank you so much, Kimberly! I'm not the most sentimental person around, and I don't always remember exactly how long we've been together or the date of our first date but the jar has been fun to have as a reminder of all our memories not just the stats.
Wonderful entry! Keep doing it and you will get a flow going
bah, I dont know...creative writing was never really my thing in grade school. I think its like running - some people love it and can't live without that adrenaline rush, but I hate it. I used to hide in the bushes when we had to run the mile in gym class. Despite being a gymnast, I would always receive a letter home saying how unfit I was based on how long it took me to finish the mile.
Oh, I also detest running. Even if writing wasn't your thing, you have a writing style that's very much "you" and it shines
Isnt it the worst? I just learned about something called Ultra Marathons where they run for 30+ hours without stopping. I can't even begin to imagine why that sounds appealing to anyone.
There is this insane thing in my country called the "Comrades Marathon" where they run from one city to another. The distance is 90km but even worse, it starts at sea level and ends at an elevation of 1955ft so they are basically running uphill all the way. On the "down" run, it's very easy to destroy the knees
So...more than two marathons, all uphill. Yeah, no. Those people have something wrong in their brain LOL. My knees are aching just from the thought of the down part.
a bit of advice........don't over think a freewrite. They should be fun and silly and make you laugh or cry from good and bad memories that will pour out of your head if you stop over thinking it too much. hugs
Now......for someone that ended this true story with still being upset about what you wrote when you wrote the most heartwarming story EVER makes me sad.
You found out for sure that the best thing in life is treating all people the same. That it doesn't matter how old or who you are or how much you have we are all people and respond to respect of being treated as such. Not many understand or even think of that in their whole lives. You did it by helping children that will never forget you or how you treated them.
for that, you should be so proud of yourself and for that reason and that alone I AM very happy you waited another 8 hours to find your piece of paper to write this story.
Thank You for sharing your story with me today. You make made proud to have met you and know there ar people in the world like you in it!
xox thank you for your encouragement again! Don't be sad; I wasn't upset with what I wrote more than the fact that it took me so long to finish, lol. I'm glad I came back to it after I hit a road block though and that I didn't just write paper over and over and be done with it. If nothing else, this challenge has made me think about things outside of the box and also to reflect on my life thus far. Exercise for the brain!!