Changing Perspective

Child

Growing up in Maine is an experience that I didn’t think was all that special until I moved away. For those who have never been, the state of Maine is a place very unlike the rest of the world. It is a place engulfed in the beauty of nature. The Atlantic Ocean is always a short drive away, hiking trails and pine trees are endless, and skiing and snowmobiling are winter favorite activities by many. The people speak in a silly New England accent and have their own vernacular that people “from away” don’t understand. Many of us are of French Canadian descent and spent most weekends “up ta camp” at the lake with our families, eating pork pies, and making maple syrup in the sugar shack with our Memere’s and Pepere’s. Even when we were home, our neighbors were like family. Everyone was always coming over for morning coffee or a game of cribbage. The door was open to anyone at pretty much all hours of the day.

There was not much cultural diversity in my world as a child. Almost around us were white and Catholic. However, there was, and still is, a small population of Vietnamese Americans in the area that I grew up in because many of them moved to Maine during the crisis in Vietnam. We all went to school and church together, so I feel like we always accepted one another. One of my favorite memories is of our neighborhood potluck Christmas parties. Everyone would come together and we would all eat and be together. My friend Thinh’s mom would always make her homemade egg rolls and they were always the first dish to be eaten. She didn’t speak much English and still doesn’t to this day, but she is still part of our family and is included in all of our celebrations.

Student

I was always expected to try my best at school and in my studies. My parents were very supportive of my education from the start. I always had good grades and was involved in lots of extracurricular activities. I believe that this support and help at home allowed me to always stay focused on school and always want to strive to do my best work in the classroom. However, I do feel like I may have put a lot of extra pressure and set some pretty high expectations for myself. If I didn’t get straight A’s, my parents wouldn’t be upset, I would be. My shortfalls in math classes would make me upset and instead of asking for extra help, I felt like I just shut down and gave up instead.

When I moved right outside of New York City for college, my entire world changed. I was now surrounded by people who were much different than me. Our campus was full of people from all different parts of the world, different races, different languages, and backgrounds. At first, it was sort of overwhelming. I remember having a conversation with one of my roommates, who had also grown up in New England, about how we wished that we had been offered the opportunity to take Spanish instead of French in high school. Many more people that we were living with now spoke Spanish. No one spoke French. However, I remember that everyone there, no matter where you came from, was always accepted and treated like family by others.

I had to change my major in college because I knew I would never be able to pass the math needed to stay in the Pre-Med program. I ended up getting my undergraduate degree in media studies and video production. I was unable to find work in the field after college and went back to school to become a teacher. This was clearly a life-changing decision for me, as it changed my entire identity.

Educator

I have been a high school English and Video Production teacher educator for the past 15 years. Every day at work is different. Most days are fun and full of learning. Some days are stressful, scary, sad, and even heartbreaking. I have been able to learn about people from all walks of life and different cultures from many different corners of the world. I go to work each day knowing that my attitude and mindset will make or break the educational experience for many of the students sitting in my classroom and I do not take that lightly. I take great pride in the fact that many of my former students come back to visit and tell me that I made my classroom feel like a place where they could truly be themselves and that we were a “family” there. Becoming a teacher was one of the best decisions that I have ever made and I am blessed to have the opportunity to help others find themselves through their learning experiences.

Parent

Seven and a half years ago I became a mother. My husband and I have two amazing, smart, beautiful, silly little girls. We allow them to be themselves and explore everything that the world has to offer. We are honest and open with them about everything (except Santa and the Tooth Fairy). We help them research answers to their questions instead of just telling them the answers. They are friends with everyone at school and it still blows my mind that they can befriend a child at the park within mere seconds of meeting them. I hope this never changes. They are unafraid to ask questions, be themselves, and invite others into their circles. Being a parent is absolutely the challenging part of my identity. It has forced me to be selfless in almost every aspect of my life, so much so, that I spend very little time focusing on myself.

Learner

Honestly, I didn’t start reflecting on this aspect of myself until I started my first M.Ed. program at Lamar University in 2019. Our program was fully based on allowing students the opportunity to have choice, ownership, and voice through truly authentic learning opportunities. The professors forced me to think and learn in new ways that were completely out of my comfort zone and at the beginning of the program I had a tough time wrapping my head around what I was supposed to be doing. However, throughout the program, I gained a different perspective on my own learning journey and the ways in which I can impact the learning journeys of my students and my own children. I have always loved learning new things, but really embracing the idea of being a “lifelong learner” has changed my identity in a profound way.

Final Thoughts

I think that we are absolutely a product of our environment, but that we are in control of who we become through the choices that we make. My identity has changed through the progression of my life, my education, and the people that I surround myself with. I grew up in an area where people were very accepting of others and I like to believe that this has allowed me to always be open to other people’s ideas and cultures. Going to graduate school was one of the best decisions that I ever made, as it has completely changed the way that I look at education, how I teach, how I learn, and how I approach the educational experiences of my own children. It seems like society wants everyone to “fit” in a certain mold, however, accepting that as true is not part of my identity. As a high school educator, I find that it is very important to teach my students the importance of having an open mind, a growth mindset, accepting others, listening and learning from others' opinions, working together to find answers and solve problems, that their learning journey will never cease, and that they do not have to settle just because others feel that they should. The most important part of my identity right now is to lead by example for my students and my own children in hopes of seeing them succeed at making a positive difference in our world.