Meet My Mentor

My last semester of undergrad was a very different one. Previous semesters were typically packed with 20 credits, volleyball, several rehearsals a day, work, practicing, and lots of reading/studying. Every day was filled with the things I loved to do. And then came. . . STUDENT TEACHING.

I dreaded the thought of student teaching since the day I knew it was a requirement for music ed. I never had much experience with children, much less teaching a classroom full of them. That was my sister-- the kid-lover. I was happy practicing piano alone all day and playing sports with my older friends. But in order to graduate, I had to complete this semester-- and pass. Originally signed up for high school band, I decided it was time to take the hard route to give me the much needed experience of elementary school general music. So I made the switch and went to block classes every day beginning at 7am feeling sick to my stomach at the very thought of soon having to know how to interact with these kids, teach them meaningful content, and be graded on how well I do it!

Ok, ok. So I had to endure a whole semester of doing something I never imagined doing, ended up loving it, and now want to do it for the rest of my life. What does this have to do with scoliosis? That's where my mentor teacher comes in.

I had been praying that God would place me with someone who would not only help me through student teaching, but help me learn and grow the most I can from it. Your mentor teacher can either make or break your student teaching experience. And thankfully, mine was AMAZING! (Both the teacher and the experience!) She showed me what it's like to be the best teacher you can be, to plan and organize well, and to love your students. Despite facing many obvious hardships during one single semester, she proved to be a faithful teacher who put others before herself. And on top of all of that, she is a fellow spinal fusion survivor-- twice! It was amazing to find out that she too had surgery for scoliosis about the same age I did, only to have a second surgery after pulling her rod loose. And here she is today, excelling at what she loves, making an impact in the lives of young children through her love of music. And I will never forget the impact she has had in my life. This year, she ended her music teaching career by retiring after 33 1/2 years of teaching, and I begin what I hope to be a similar path-- using what God places in our lives to share our passions, make a difference, and point others to Him.

Scoliosis or no scoliosis, we all have things God has specifically chosen us to experience. What will you do with it?