Do it anyway...

Last Sunday, October 23rd, was the ten year anniversary of the release of the iPod.  The iPod is one of my favorite inventions of all time.  In fact, we have four iPods in our family of four people,...but three of them are MINE, MINE, MINE!  My collection of tunes is extensive and ridiculously random. I have over 1000 songs and the artists range, literally, from Abba to ZZ Top.  An iPod accompanies me everywhere, but I rarely get to listen to it as much as I would like.  Sigh....

Over fall break, my family visited my parents in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.  It's around an eleven hour drive, which, in my opinion, is entirely too long to be trapped in a car...with two kids...and exactly two inches of leg room.  But, that twenty-two hours of travel time gave me many glorious hours of iPod time.  One of my very favorite things about the iPod is the "Shuffle" setting.  I love never knowing what song is coming up next, and half the time I don't even remember the song being on my iPod.  I also love the randomness of Shuffle.  At one point on the trip my iPod played Eminem's "Lose Yourself" (clean version, of course), followed by Luciano Pavarotti's "Nessun dorma!", followed by the Willie Nelson and Ray Charles duet of "Seven Spanish Angels", followed by Mozart's "Symphony #40 in G Minor", followed by Styx's "Come Sail Away".  Talk about musical variety!

Out of all the songs I heard on the trip, one particular song has stuck with me:  Martina McBride's "Anyway".  I didn't remember downloading the song, probably several years earlier, and I think I've really only heard it a few times (including Lauren Alaina's version on American Idol). 

You can spend your whole life buildin'
Something from nothin
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway
You can chase a dream
That seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy
And it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway
You can love someone with all YOUR heart 
For all the right reasons
And in a moment they can choose to walk away
love em anyway

God is great but sometimes life aint good
And when I pray
It doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
Yeah I do it anyway, yeah,

You can pour your soul out singin'
A song you believe in
That tomorrow they'll forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway

 

The lyrics made me think of several conversations I've had with students over the past few years:

"I can't take that challenging class.  I might make a bad grade and mess up my grade point average."

--Take it anyway.

"I can't try out for a part in the high school musical!  What if I mess up and everyone laughs at me?"

--Try out anyway.

"I can't talk to my parents about it.  They don't understand that I'm trying my hardest.  I'll never be good enough for them."

--Talk to them anyway.

"Why waste my time on that team?  I never get any real playing time." 

--Play anyway.

"I can't apply to that college.  I'll never get in!"

--Apply anyway.

"I can't ask her to Junior-Senior.  She'll never say yes."

--Ask her anyway.

"I want to talk to my friends about my problems, but I'm just not sure I can trust them to keep things quiet."

--Trust them anyway.     

"I can't ask for help during class.  My classmates will think I'm dumb."

--Ask anyway.

It's the "do it anyway" that's such a tough lesson for teens (and let's face it, adults).

It takes a lot of convincing that the tough way is almost always the right way.

The easier way just seems,...well, so much easier.

They are watching us to see how we handle life's "Shuffle" setting:  not knowing what's coming at us next. 

It takes us all...teachers, parents, administration, coaches, friends, siblings,...to persuade them to "do it anyway", and it inspires us all when they do.

I heard an interview with Steve Jobs's biographer recently.  He said that ten years ago the "experts" thought the iPod would be a complete failure. 

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for doing it anyway.

And...thanks bunches for the iPad, too.  

--Renee Hood--  

Infusion

 

One of the perks of my new position is getting to interview prospective students.  As a teacher I often met prospective students as they toured the school, but interviewing them is a whole new thing for me.  I've spent nineteen years teaching teens, but the dynamic of a one-on-one interview is less comfortable than the environment of a classroom.

The students are usually a little nervous during the interview, which I find endearing.  It tells me they haven't spent a lot of time in the principal's office (always a plus).  I ask each student several open ended questions and try to get to know them a little bit.  Most of the questions are pretty basic: Why do you want to come to Boyd-Buchanan School?...What is your favorite subject?...What hobbies and interests do you have?...Do you know any current BBS students?...etc.  I get a lot of similar answers to these questions, as you can imagine.

But, sometimes a prospective student totally captures me with an unexpected or particularly thoughtful answer.  I think often about an answer given by a lovely young lady I interviewed a few days after school had started.  She had planned to attend another private school in the area this year, but just didn't feel good about the decision.  She knew a few BBS students and begged her parents to call the admissions office to see if she could possibly attend this year even though school had already started.  When I asked her why she wanted to come to Boyd-Buchanan instead of the other school she had planned to attend, she gave the most inspiring answer: 

 "I don't want to go to a school that is only a place where Christians go to school.  I want to go to a school that is infused with Christianity throughout.  That's what I've heard about Boyd-Buchanan, so I want to come here."

 

Wow!  What an answer!  I couldn't admit the girl fast enough and I smile every time I see her.   

 

The Merriam-Webster definition of INFUSE:  (verb)--to cause to be permeated with something (as a principle or quality) that alters usually for the better; to cause (as a person) to become filled or saturated with a certain quality or principle.

 

What a great reputation for Boyd-Buchanan to have:  a place infused with Christianity...permeated...saturated.  

It's also a lot for the teachers, students, parents, and staff to live up to...everyday. 

I am so happy that this young lady wanted to come to BBS because it is a Christian school and not just a school where Christians attend.  I hope many others share her opinion.

 

May we all be infused with Christianity every day.

The world would certainly be altered for the better. 

 

--Renee Hood--