I got the following in the mail the other day:
- We watched your video in class today. The students LOVED the introduction and were in awe of your pipe and your mohawk.They totally laughed when you called the student out for texting and even looked around the room. One 7th grade boy got nervous and thought you could see us. LOL what a riot. It was great for them to hear you talking directly to them. They smiled and perked up every time you said Ms. Timmons’ or creative writing class. That made them feel really special.
The 8-10th graders really appreciate all the knowledge you gave them about continue writing everyday, and don’t be afraid to show your work to someone. They were writing down the names of the companies you mentioned for publication. We will submit some work.
We filmed something for you and I hope my students will have that edited soon. We go on Thanksgiving break tomorrow at noon…but we will get you the video soon.Thank you SO much – it means the world to them.
Shortly thereafter, they sent me a really heart-warming video of the whole class thanking me.
“What video?” you may ask.
We’ll, their teacher had asked me a while back to make a video about being a writer… my influences and experiences. I took that to mean how it all applies to being a young person interested in writing and perhaps becoming a writer him or herself. I’d originally intended to do five or ten minutes on the subject. The bloody thing turned into a confession of sorts…. It’s twenty-five minutes long, and I ramble here and there, and it’s just me sitting in my living room talking to one specific class about being a writer. It’s not a big deal, but to me it’s special.
I want to add that I used to be a teacher. I taught Writing and The College Research paper at the University of Northern Colorado about a lifetime ago. Come to think of it, I was teaching years before any of the kids in this class were born. But it was nice to slip into those shoes again… to stand (well, sit) in front of a room full of students and do my best to encourage them to become something more than they are. I don’t claim to be an expert, and I sure as hell don’t know it all, but I have at least a few things to share.
The best part was hearing and seeing all of them saying thank you. It put a really nice smile on my face. So, seeing as the video is also part of this “becoming a writer” journey I’m on, I figured I’d share it here. I won’t be offended if you don’t watch it… it is a bit long (yikes), but it was worth the experience for me, and it seems to have been worth the experience for the class.
Interestingly (to me, anyway), I wrote about networking on the Fictorians site yesterday. I think the circumstances surrounding how fortunate I was to be asked to do this for a creative writing class highlights the point I was trying to make. The more you put yourself out there, the more you will have opportunities like the one I had doing this video. I count myself fortunate. The feeling I got when I received the thank you was recompense enough.
There’s nothing like it, and if I’m really lucky, I’ll get to do more things like this that (hopefully) help other writers or writers-to-be.
Q.
