I read this blog post by Donald Miller the other day. The entire point of the post is that we will become like the people we spend the most time with.
"In five years, you’ll become a conglomerate of the people you spend the most time with. In fact, if I wanted to know who you were going to be five years from now, I’d not ask what you do, what education you have, what you eat or whether you exercise, though all those things have an impact. Instead, I’d want to spend a little time with the folks you spend time with. That alone would tell me who you were going to become." -Donald Miller
When I finished reading this post, I sat there and thought about it for a minute; who do I spend the most amount of my time with? The first thought that popped into my head was junior high and high school kids... Oh man, I'm doomed. Now I know Donald wasn't necessarily talking about the people we work with. I think he is referring more to our close friends, but still. I spend the majority of my time with teenagers and cheerleaders. I must admit, I love my job, but the thought that I will become like the people I spend my time with kind of frightened me. I don't want to just be a big junior higher for the rest of my life!
I spent a few more days letting Donald's blog post percolate in my mind. No need to have a complete nervous break down, I scolded myself. Maybe there were some benefits to being a big junior higher. Within a few days, I began to see the light and now I wonder if we should all want to be big junior highers. Then there is part of me that wonders if we really are just big junior highers who try to pretend like we know what we are doing in this adult world.
So as I look at it, here are a few things we can learn from junior highers:
1) They aren't too cool to do fun, dorky things. They can joke about some of the dumbest things and they can even get excited about silly activities like writing verb raps. They put their hats on sideways, bust out their coolest dance moves and verb lyrics, and for just a few moments they let the little kid shine bright without any hesitations.
2) They cry. (They aren't hard yet.) Maybe it's just that I'm a really scary teacher, but I have had some really great, transparent conversations with junior high kids. In the midst of those conversations, they cry and they aren't afraid to let it flow. I mean, they aren't afraid to cry for ANY reason; they let their emotions flow (yes, you remember the days) and flow and flow. While I'm sure we are thankful to be over the hormonal craziness of junior high, I think there is some beauty in letting ourselves cry in front of others. It breaks down the walls and it invites pure friendship. It breaks our adult jaded-hardness. How beautiful it is to see tears.
3) They say it how it is. "Mrs. Sharpmack, what were you thinking?... Sharpmack, I think that is dumb. .... You are acting weird.... You are such a dork...Well, that was dumb!" I hear pure truth (not to say I don't hear a few lies too) and it is direct. You never have to guess what junior highers are thinking. Now I know, a little tact goes a long way and that is something I teach every day... but I wonder if adults spoke a little more pure truth and we didn't always play this "politically correct" thing, maybe we wouldn't feel like we were always on such a slippery slope. We wouldn't guess what our boss or coworker really thought of us.
4) Life hasn't become too complicated yet. They still view life in very basic concepts of right and wrong. They aren't jaded and they haven't allowed the gray to cloud their views of life, themselves, and each other. They may feel insecure in how they act or what they look like. They may be in this awkward time of "figuring themselves out", but at their core they still can sift life through a right and wrong, black and white strainer. They are still innocent, overall.
I guess at the end of the day, I can't deny it, I am thankful that I have grown up and moved on from the dreaded awkward junior high years. Yet, if part of me is stuck being a big junior higher because those are the people I spend the most time with, I think I'm ok with it. There are certainly some benefits of seeing life from a junior higher's perspective.
Oh but wait, I must ask, who will you be like in 5 years?
1 comment:
Excellent insight! I think it is oh so true too! That's why they say to surround yourself with positive people, it will lift you up! And I must agree, that unfortunately, like it or not, we spend a lot of time at work, and those people can make a big impact on us. Don't choose a job based purely on salary, as there are many other very important factors that will affect you!
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