expanding positivity

Yesterday was an excellent day. I tendered my letter of resignation at work, received a lovely gift from a student, and spent the afternoon with my beautiful, brilliant women colleagues. I saw some impressive art with another friend at Black Eye Art‘s pop-up gallery and afterward enjoyed a slice of Billy’s key lime pie. On Facebook last week a friend posted a photo that said, “If you focus on positivity, it will expand. And the opposite is true, too.” And I realize that too often I focus on the negative until it obliterates the positive elements of any situation. I focus on the students that work my last nerve rather than celebrating the ones who are working hard. Yesterday I turned in my last set of final grades; it didn’t take as long as expected because several of my students didn’t bother to turn in the exam. But I also had a visit from one of my A students; the week before she came in with a stack of my books, which she’d purchased and wanted me to sign. This week she came bearing gifts—heartfelt words about the impact my teaching had on her and a book about the unicorn tapestries, which I LOVE. Before leaving my office she said, “You know, professor, you may not be reaching all of us but you ARE reaching some of us.” And that does matter, though I often feel demoralized when my students fail and seem not to care. Yesterday as I walked over to the art gallery a young black man leaned in as he passed me and hissed, “Stupid b*%#@!” I didn’t flinch but did stop on the next block to make sure he wasn’t looming over me with a brick. Women deal with male aggression every day—on the street, in the classroom, and sometimes at home. But that encounter didn’t ruin my day or spoil my mood. I choose to focus on abundance, not lack—the positive, not the negative…

Today I woke up early for a school visit and found that Jamie at Black Girl Nerds had posted my new books on her blog. Other people are requesting review copies and I’ve had a few orders from schools. If you want to stop “summer slide” and keep the kids in your life reading over the summer, I hope you’ll give my books a try.