spirit

the past two days have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me i must admit. it's not necessarily a rough coaster ride, just a mix of ups and downs. these ups and downs are actually tied together with some commonality. with spirit.

yesterday at about 5:00 p.m. i realized change. my normal tuesday at 5:00 for about the past 13 or so years meant AMB time. but yesterday was different. my first tuesday in a long time wasn't centered around the rush of wrapping up work around 4:40, heading over to the MAC to fight for a parking space and then entering the Great Room filled with energy and enthusiasm, no matter what was going on beyond those four walls. but yesterday was different for me since my four walls didn't match those of the Great Room and the 5:00 circle. yet, the spirit within was still there. i guess that is why it was a tough couple of hours on Tuesday evening as I had time to reflect on what all those previous evenings in that special circle meant to me. those "things" are too many to list here and would take too long to explain, but let's just say it was an experience of a lifetime. enough said.

today at about 11:00 a.m. i realized change. my first teaching experience was upon me. i had prepared a course syllabus, built a lesson plan, printed a class roster, and collected the textbooks for the course. i conducted my first 50 minute class as a Freshman Seminar instructor. of course i was fortunately sharing the experience with a great peer leader! how lucky i am to have a dedicated, compassionate, intelligent and creative student leader like miss erma to help shape the minds of 19 new freshmen. there is no real way to predict how successful we will be, but we are determined to help these students "get it" and love App as much as we do.

finally around 7:00 p.m. tonight i had a special delivery from a special friend. morgs made a surprise visit on the westside and brought an envelope with my name on it. after a short but great visit with morgs, i opened the envelope to find about 40 spririts. for those familiar with the 5:00 o'clock circle, you know something about "AMB Spirit": a simple, yet powerful, way to share your thoughts and feelings through a post-it note is tradition on tuesday's at 5:00. and much to my surprise and gratitude, i had an envelope full of that love and admiration. it is something i'll certainly remember and cherish for a long time. i thank each of you for your kindness and your friendships.

people have often asked me, "what is it that makes appalachian so special?" the answer is simple for me. it's the spirit.

what makes appalachian so special for you?