The Polls Are In...

I'm not sure where I really want to start with this post or where exactly I want to go with it either...so bare with me. 

This year it took me a while to decide if I wanted to come back to Chevak for year 4. I was going back and forth and through the list of pros and cons that was causing more stress that its intentions. 

It was only when I wasn't actually stressing out on the decision that it came to me. I was actually not even in Chevak when it became so clear to me. This whole month, I have been apart of a tutoring program for the 11th and 12th graders that have yet to pass the HSGQE exam. It has been a very draining process for me but so rewarding as well. It requires the 12 students to get 30 additional hours of tutoring OUTSIDE of school throughout the month of March. Anyway, I was traveling with the boys and girls basketball teams to regionals (since 7 out of the 12 students are in basketball it only made sense that one of us went to avoid them from getting off track). My intentions were to go with the team and then when I returned to Chevak let people know that I wasn't going to be coming back next year. It just had become a constant battle with myself. I wasn't feeling like I was making an impact/difference here, and so I ultimately wasn't planning on coming back. 

However, that all changed thanks to the attitudes of some of my kiddos that were on the ball teams. Even in the face of defeat, they never let that radiate through themselves. They never threw their hands up and quit. They didn't change who they were as people based on what was happening in their current situation. One of my kiddos really showed me that throughout the weekend. Even after a tough lose and he still maintained a positive attitude and looked more at how he could improve rather than quitting. At that point, I decided that I too was going to look at things as to how I can improve, rather than giving into defeat. 

So long story short, I will be coming back next year. Yes, I still have many doubts about that decision but that is what feels right to me at the current time. Yes, I know that there are people that will disagree with this decision for whatever reason but hopefully they can still be supportive of me.