Maestra Veliz

With the quarantine…I’ve been blessed to be able to write about a variety of topics. Enjoy! And as always, talk to me with your thoughts!

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Dear Lies,

You make your way into every day life. In little ways, big ways, you’re as corrosive to the human soul as vinegar is to metal .

I’d imagine if you were a person you’d be the dapper dashing man in the room. Your allure drawing a crowd. I can see the lust for you in people’s eyes. Hell, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t admit that you’ve enticed even me. But unlike some people who obsess over you and can’t get enough of you, after I engaged with you I felt disgusting.

Philosophers, Theorists, Priests, even Scientists have attempted to understand you. The dangerous thing about you is people don’t understand how you change them. Scientist have proven, the more someone intertwines with you the more it desensitizes the brain to the fear of getting caught or even worse, hurting others. Which makes lying for one’s own benefit down the road that much easier. Because of this you cause irreparable damage and hurt. You may very well be the greatest assassin of all time, you kill people without anyone even noticing.

It’s a lonely life, lying. And I hope you don’t expect sympathy from those who aren’t enticed by you. Sympathy shouldn’t be wasted on those who choose to waste even the most basic gifts of life, like self worth, love, and integrity. You take that from people. You take every ounce of self respect from people.

You revel in the fact that people are scared of your enemy, Honesty. She’s everything you’re not, and she gives everything to people you can’t. She’s intimidating as hell, but you see the difference with her is that people can become better after going to her.

So stay lonely & stay worse for the wear, Lies. Honesty has another thing coming for you.

We’re told over and over growing up that mistakes don’t define us. But, just as equally as significant to our lives as the good times, the “bad times” or the mistakes DO define us.

I know of this woman who was dirt broke, jobless, divorced, and battling severe depression as a single mother. In her mind, and even to others, she had failed miserably. Not with just a marriage, but her job at the same time. Here she was living on welfare to support a child she couldn’t afford, to keep themselves off the street. She could have let those mistakes repeat themselves, as some of us tend to do. She also could have had the situation become much worse if her pride and ego were bruised enough to not be willing to accept certain necessities.

Instead, this woman accepted what the situation was, accepted that she had made mistakes along the way and decided to use those mistakes to push herself in a different direction. 12 rejected publishers later and J.K. Rowling accepted a mere $4,000 for what would become one of the best selling series of all time propelling her to billionaire status (and she thought $4,000 was the success).

So the why. Why is her story important? It’s one of thousands. And yes, hers is more famously known. But everywhere in the world, across every country people are making all kinds of mistakes. Some with bigger ripples than others. We’re told that we can’t let them define us. But in all reality, that’s the opposite of what we need to do. If you aren’t angered with yourself, embarrassed by your mistake, and wanting something different than the outcome of your mistake…how will anything ever change?

Mistakes define you because they teach you what you don’t want to be, what you don’t want to have. If you allow it, the low feelings you have after making a mistake humble you enough to teach you what you never want to experience again. You learn what your weaknesses and strengths are. In turn, you build a resilience to some of the darkest and poorest moments of your life. A resilience that you carry forever, becoming a better version of yourself. Mistakes aren’t fun, but their invaluable if you let them be.

“Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”

J.K. Rowling

You read that right. Don’t double take. I am getting a second job so I can keep doing what I love every day. The luxurious life of a teacher, with summers off, isn’t as glamorous as you think. I love my job, beyond words, and think I’m pretty damn good at it. It’s my purpose in life, but I can no longer sustain it. Especially not on my single income if I want to choose to own a home someday, start a family.

Google the words “teacher salaries,” I dare you. See what headlines pop up. What I guarantee you will see is:

-“I slept in my car…”

-“Teacher worked 3 jobs to get by…”

-“Teacher protests..”

Let’s hear the other side though of the fence though, just to play devil’s advocate. Conversations I’ve had with peers usually go something like this…”You get paid summers off though, with a spring and winter break! And great benefits! So it all equals out.” They must think I really only stay my contracted hours of 8am to 4pm. They must think I don’t take work home. They must think I have unlimited amounts of cash to use on my own classroom supplies and books. And they really must believe that this is some type of office job, where once I leave I’m not thinking about it. But 9.999/10. Their wrong. 

I’ve never understood the flipped idea of a teacher’s place in American society. Teachers quite literally build the future, the foundation, of America. Where would anyone be without learning? Every single GENIUS inventor, GREAT CEO, PHENOMENAL doctor, etc.…learned from a teacher. And we are thanked for that by getting a whopping $1.90 pay increase per hour for the year, at least that was mine, to account for the increase in the cost of living. Yep, pretty self-sustaining. Thanks, America.

Despite that, I’ll keep showing up to teach class sizes of 30. I’ll keep differentiating the learning for each of those 30 students because I can attest that every student learns differently. I’ll keep teaching them not just educational skills, but human life skills. I’ll keep being in some cases the mom, doctor, hair stylist, artist, behavior specialist, friend, counselor, and whatever other role is needed for those little humans in my life because it’s what I was put on this Earth to do. And I won’t do it with resentment, or frustration. I really believe I can change the world, by changing these kids lives. Because they are the future. Even if that requires me getting a second job to be able to do it.

Tears when I went to bed, tears when I woke in the morning. Hoping that it’s not real but feeling the weight that it is.

I was pre-destined to be a Laker fan, you see my older brother was a huge fan of Magic Johnson & the Showtime era. But it was different with me & Kobe. There’s the average fan that knows the stats, the highlight reel‘s…And then there’s the fans like me. The ones that become obsessive just as much as he was. The walking Kobe encyclopedias. I don’t think there was a day that went by growing up that I didn’t mention some stat, or say something he said. I’d get into arguments with people, over how he was the GOAT. Yes, I was saying that even then. If you ask one of my college professors, I even wrote a whole speech in my writing class about why he should win the MVP, & he would go on to win it that next year.

January 10, 2006. He played the Portland Trailblazers. My family had a tradition of going to the hotels to try to get signatures because decades prior my brother had done so & met Magic. Who went on to give the family a phone call! Which is another story…But I was obsessive with Kobe & my mom knew my one goal in life was to meet this man that my world revolved around. At the time, was when Kobe was going through a lot of turmoil off the court, so he was known not to sign anything or speak to anyone. But he walked out of that hotel room, took one look at me (even though there was at least 50 people standing there) & came to sign everything I had in my hands & got on the bus. I walked into school later that day, walking on cloud 9.

I watched him in awe for so long. I wanted to mimic everything about him. His habits, mannerisms, even right down to his free through routine. It’s bittersweet to me that I realized, at 31 years of age in my classroom, & he at 41 with his multi-million dollar companies, we were focusing on the same passion…inspiring the next generation, knowing they were the future who could change the world. So, as I write this with tears in my eyes, he really did become a part of me. It feels like a part of me died, but if anything it strengthened, Mamba Mentality forever.

It was an honor to pour every ounce of my support into a player…& a person, like him. To know a person’s life has its ups & downs, but that you can push past anything you set your mind to. I used to say I’ve been there since the beginning, & I’ll be there til the end. But I’ll be there after the end. They’ll write books about him, & someday in the future, I’ll share the story with the next generation, of how a man, because of sheer will power, changed the world. 💜💛

Photo credit: Noah Graham

I wish I heard what my Goddaughter Alyssandra said more often. Instead, I hear the opposite constantly at work from the kids, and then come home to the same hum drum. Whether it’s coming from social media, the gym…you name it. There haven’t been many places I’ve been that I didn’t hear this phrase, in more or less words. When did the mentality shift? When did the newer generations, mine included, decide that quitting was the better option? That flitting from one thing to the next and walking out rather than working, was the easier, more fitting choice.

People, not just kids, are quitting at everything all the time. Jobs, relationships, hobbies, even on themselves! Because as my 8 year old kids say “it’s tooooo hard.” Everything in life TAKES WORK! And there’s an alarming legitimate lack of grit. That isn’t to say everyone is this way. Nor that there aren’t situations that are of a more serious caliber. But what used to be considered normal life speed bumps-at school, at home, at work-are now each Mt. Everest, aka “it’s too hard.”

Is it the way some are raised? Should it be blamed on external factors? The idea that people have seem to become more sensitive to everything. Should it be blamed on schools for the shifts in curriculum and lack of creativity we aren’t always allowed? Is it the day and age of technology? Is it a sense of entitlement? WHAT IS IT???

I grew up 80% outside. Long hair, branches stuck in it, dirt smeared, scrapes on my legs, playing with my worm farm (yes, I had a worm farm not an ant one 🤷🏽‍♀️😂). While my family worked in the fields, I was responsible to get creative entertaining myself with whatever was out there. It wasn’t just that I grew up seeing my parents have to slave away every day out in the field either, they made sure we worked too once we could. In fact, I actually thrive when my back’s against the wall because when there’s pressure is when I perform at my best. I attribute that grit and work ethic to my childhood.

Every day at work, I ponder this at least once. Every night at home, it crosses my mind. Sometimes I think I should just let it go, let people give up on relationships, let the kids whine about their schoolwork, shoot even give up on some of my goals, like going to the gym 😅. I would be lying to say I haven’t ever thought about it. But something in me won’t let me do that. I guess I think there’s a greater purpose to it all, to committing to my resolve. Believe me, if I ever solve this problem…I’ll be the first to let you know.

*THANKS for reading! Where do you see this in every day life?? Hit the comment section, let me know what you think! ANDDDDD big shoutout to my Goddaughter for learning early! ♥️

Amor,

Alyssa

Quick update on where & how you can follow my daily school life & get the products I use:

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Did you know the median average time spent reading an article on a blog is 37 seconds? (Source: NewsCred)

So that gives me 37 seconds toooooooo….absolutely fascinate you. Ha!

I took the plunge and officially decided to launch head first into my writing journey! I’ve always had a passion for it and written various pieces, but wasn’t sure whether I fully wanted to commit. 🚨*Gasp* Commitment’s scary!…shocker! 😂

If you know me from before, if you don’t know me at all, this blog will end up being a collection of my thoughts, insights and my personality put down, pen to paper…well…you get what I mean. Writing allows me to become more intimate with myself and with others. I can’t say I’m the most experienced at life, hell I can’t say I know much at all, but as a teacher I have this intrinsic motivation to want to change peoples lives in a positive way, to impart on them some lesson.

Now, I’ve worked with 8 year olds all day, every day for the past 8 years, so you may wonder what could I possibly know that will help you, but no lie, there really are quite a few similarities between those kids and most adults 😂🤔🤷🏽‍♀️. My job as a teacher is yes, to teach 2 x 2 and what is weather, but it’s also to observe behavior, notice underlying mannerisms and quirks, and then help those little people learn how to function in the real world. It’s my responsibility to teach them how to understand themselves. So yes…we deserve summer’s off! 🗣…(but that conversation is for another time 😏).

I will say this: If I wasn’t a teacher, I don’t know if I would have had as much growth emotionally or intellectually. And trust! It was a long journey! Wish it were more financially! 😂💀 Ohhhh, the joys of teaching. But teaching has had me examine myself in every facet, because if I don’t know who I am or what I stand for than how on Earth can I be entrusted to have it be my job to help someone else do the same?

The goal for me has always been unwavering: to have a lasting positive impact on the world. The why’s you’ll soon find out. I hope this turns into another avenue for purpose and positivity, and that you join me along the way.

I’ll be posting on here bi-weekly. So HIT the subscribe button, SHARE the weblink, feel free to chat with me in the comments. I can’t wait for what’s to come!

Con Amor ♥️

Maestra Veliz