Earlier today I was struggling with writer’s block. What exciting event could I possibly write about for today’s blog- our group’s failed attempt to order pizza? The cheesy yet heartwarming movie we watched about Prince William and Kate? Or our daily trip to the gym, one that spearheads a movement we like to call ’40 Days of Fitness’?
In actuality, all of these events were pretty bland and normal. Today, in fact, was an extremely normal day.
Wait, what?
Never on this trip did I think I’d feel ‘normal’. During my first two weeks, which were jam packed with new trips, foods, assignments, and even commute times, I could hardly find my own groove. I was wiped out physically and emotionally and was more likely to take a nap than to go out to the local bakery or for a run.
But here I am, laying in bed, writing and thinking about lesson plans for tomorrow, feeling completely at peace. Today feels like a compilation of normal events, and on a weekly scale, like the climax of a bunch of normal days. I appreciate this sense of routine, one that serves to break me out of my shell rather than to restrict me.
This week, I knew what to expect when I walked in to teach my three year olds. I shamelessly sang and danced for my kids. Heck, I even waved my arms like a madman trying to teach them the word ‘swimming’ in English. What felt most normal to me was when I got up in front of 16 moms at Tulipdale and began teaching them how flashlights work- I’m starting to think that science is actually my first language.
Even tutoring my two boys at Future Hope is beginning to feel normal. This is a stark contrast from our first encounter, when the two refused to talk to me, much less do their homework or accept my help. But just this Friday, one of them kept me back after our normal end time saying that he ‘wanted to learn’. Maybe it’s because we now have an ongoing bet that if they get above a 90 on their next math test, I’ll buy them chocolate. But I selfishly like to think that I’m having an impact- a concept that seemed so foreign to me when I first arrived.
So yes, today is a pretty normal day. And tomorrow will probably be pretty normal too. But don’t confuse normal with average- each day I’m surrounded by amazing people and places, doing amazing things. In this sense, I’m now just living my normal life.