Who Says You Can't go Home
Who Says You Can't Go Home?
"Been there, done that, it's been a long long road, feels like I never left that's how the story goes"
I
am 33 years old. I was a student at Holy Name. I have worked there for
the past 8 years. 12 years of my life has been spent in that building.
Or, roughly one third of my life. And I have loved every minute of my
time there.
My
first day of teaching, September 1st 2006, I looked at 30 sets of eyes
looking back at me, and I thought I was going to shit my pants. I
thought to myself, what the hell did I get myself into. I didn't plan on
being a teacher. I thought about it, but writing was my passion. I
thought, well I'll have a lot of free time to write. Summer's off, a
week vacation every ten weeks, out at 2:30. Cake. I never thought I
would fall in love with the profession. But I did. Those first few weeks
of terror turned into waking up everyday, so excited to get to work. A
lot of it was my kids, the amazing class of 2009. They were without a
doubt the best class I have ever taught. To this day they mean the most
to me. And that is saying something, because I have had some
unbelievable kids. It has been 8 years since I had them in class, 5
years since they graduated, and they still keep in touch with me. My
second class, the class of 2010 was also amazing. And so on and so on.
It would be to long and hard to list them individually, especially 2009.
I would leave someone out and that would not be fair. They have all
made too big an imprint in my life. But they all know who they are.
Coaching basketball has given me even more perspective. The kids that I
have coached have became my family. It was an honor to be "Pops", the
nickname a group of wonderful kids gave me. I worked with an awesome
faculty and a dedicated administration that made teaching a much easier
transition. Any person would be lucky to have had the experiences in
their careers that I got to have at Holy Name. That is why leaving is
the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But I am leaving.
I will be starting a new job in September, teaching English
at Assabet Valley Tech. It is a great school and I am looking forward to
teaching there. I believe it will be best for me and my family. I feel
like I have accomplished everything I need to accomplish at Holy Name. A
wise man once said "you either die a hero, or live long enough to see
yourself become the villain". It is time to move on. So to all my
students I say this: I have loved every minute of my time at Holy Name. I
can't thank you enough. I walked into Holy Name in 1995 a scared kid,
and left in 1999 a confident young man. I walked back in as a 25 year
old single guy and left a married father. All the kinds words that I
have received the last 8 years have meant more to me than you will ever
know. I
can never ever thank you enough, the kindness you have shown me, I'll
take it with me for the rest of my life. As Conan O'Brien once said,
"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they would get. But if
you work hard and you are kind, amazing things can happen. It did to me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
