Stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train
I want to get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's moving in
I know I can't but honestly won't someone stop this train
~John Mayer
I remember the first time I heard this song. I think I was a junior in college (I might
have been a sophomore…I’ve slept since then), I stopped, played the song again,
and thought, yes…that’s it! That’s how
I’ve felt for the past almost 10 years.
Granted, at some points of the past decade I’ve sighed a breathe of
relief when the train has just traveled on and moved, but there have been so
many times where I have just wanted to stop the train.
Wouldn’t life be so sweet if we had a pause button? If when I wanted to, I could just snap my
fingers and relish in the moment of life that was before me? There were many times I was in college and I
just wanted to say, “Wait!! Hold on, I
just want to stay here!” I guess that’s the thing about life…we can’t. We’re just along for the ride and we have to
take the snapshots while the moment presents itself.
This past school year has been one that is very
bittersweet. 2 of my closest school
friends have decided that this is their last semester at RCHS. It would be a huge understatement to say that
I will be lost without them. Heather and
Carolyn have been my lifesavers and my confidants for 3 years. I remember so clearly the 2nd day
of my first year and making it into school, but breaking down in tears right
before first period. Carolyn rushed to
my side and gave me a study guide to give the students and then Heather sat
down with me during planning and mapped out what would ultimately become my
English II curriculum. They are 2 of the
best teachers I have ever been in contact with.
Their love for literature and students is evident in every class they teach. Carolyn is like a second mom to me, helping
me, taking me in under her wing, and slowly making me a stronger and more
independent teacher. Heather has become
my big sister. She has guided me and
stood by my side when I have been lost.
So I hope that you can see why I want to stop this
train. I want to embrace this time and
hold onto it a little bit longer. The
opportunities they have before them are tremendous and I am so amazingly happy
for both of them! It is a very, very
bittersweet time. Happiness is
overflowing, but my heart is sad too.
They have been my “rocks” at Rockingham and I’m still trying to figure
out what my ‘school life’ will be like without them.
Life doesn’t give us a pause button. Unfortunately we can’t ‘stop the train’. Life goes on and provides us with the
experience we need to take the next step.
Every step in my journey leads me to my next one. I know that Carolyn and Heather have helped
to pave the road in my teaching life and have also helped me in my personal life
as well.
The train keeps on moving, but the good thing is, we can
take the people, memories, pictures, stories, and experiences with us. The station might not stop very often, but we
have to enjoy the ride. Just enjoy the
ride. Learn from the scenery. Take pictures in our hearts of the ones that
have made it better.
