On the Bright Side

When I met my husband it was love at first sight. We were two long lost souls reunited and were inseparable from the start. Twenty five years, six addresses, two kids and multiple career changes later, our love-fest has matured into grown-up jobs and grown-up responsibilities. And while our souls may be aligned, our personalities are not always so in synch. Marriage has a way of shining a light into corners of our psyche that have been lying dormant and unquestioned for years. I’m sure there were times when my husband looked at me and wondered who this masked impostor was that had been posing as his best friend. I know I did. There were times when we were so far away from each other that it felt scary and lonely. Fortunately, two things we hold in common are an open mind and a sense of humor. The first years of marriage can be tough. Move to a new state, throw a couple of kids into the mix and change jobs a few times and it can be crazy. On a particularly stressful day, my husban...

        I was asked to speak to a group of undergraduates at the State University of New York at Geneseo (my alma mater) for their GOLD program’s “Pearls of Wisdom” series. The program prepares students for leadership roles in college and beyond through workshops and lectures. Preparing for this forced me to take a candid look at my own leadership style to garner what ‘pearls’ I could from my 26 year career that would speak to a young, hopeful audience at the beginning of theirs. This was challenging considering I haven’t done anything that I would consider speech-worthy. I haven’t started a charity or volunteered for the Peace Corp; I’m not a CEO of a high-tech company; I haven’t run for office or published a book (yet!). I teach. I parent. I continue to learn and grow. I chase my dreams. I work hard and play hard and try to “be the change I wish to see in the world.” But those sound more like refrigerator magnets than secrets to success. So, what’s my secret? Succ...

Writing this column for the past ten years has been a symbiotic way for me to examine life’s little twists and turns, while hopefully providing insight and entertainment to readers as well. But last month, when life threw me a disappointing curveball, I really had to dig deep to find the bright side. It wasn’t the end of the world or anything; Just a huge, completely unexpected blow to my ego and my game plan, that had me walking around in a fog for about a day and a half. Particularly unnerving was how much time I spent deciding to take the plunge. For the better part of the last two years I’ve been toying with the idea of going back to school. I’ve taken classes, visited schools, interviewed professionals and professors weighing pros and cons; doctorate versus masters; writing versus history; now versus later. Only to make up my mind, put all of my eggs in one basket (In know!) only to be told, “Thank you for your interest.....Take a hike, sister.” I was so sure I was on the rig...

Life`s a Beach By Jonna Shutowick. M.S. Ed.   My inspiration this month comes from the Starfish Story. Before I begin, let me recount a version of the story here for you, just in case you haven’t heard it before:  A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement. She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!” The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!” - Adapted from the Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley After my first year a...