citizen of the planet

I just got back home under an hour ago. I’m quite exhausted actually. I just got back from the graduation dinner with my Learn to Run class. It was over at Milestones, which really does have great food. It was a fitting end to one of the more amazing things that I’ve accomplished in the last few years. Really, a good time was had by all. Including myself, 21 of us attended. Every single one of my students was grateful for everything that we had done for them. All of the details, the encouragement, and positive attitude really did go a long way to keeping them going. The group leaders and I have turned them all into runners! Ten weeks ago, none of them would have imagined themselves to have accomplished so much. And now here they are, brimming with confidence.

Can you tell just how proud I am of them?

Really, seeing so much success with them kind of affirms the fact that I did a great job. Back when I was asked whether I’d teach the LTRs, I was totally apprehensive for various reasons. Really though, I just didn’t think I had the confidence to be able to take almost 50 people through the process. As was often the case with me, I knew I had the ability to lead, but the will was really only halfway there. Often, I find that I need a good shove to get going. Really that’s something I have to work on, because ultimately a lot of that needs to come from within, right? Anyway, enough clinic leaders came forward to point to me as someone who’d do well. Apparently my level of determination, despite my speed (or lack thereof) left a deep impression. I guess they saw qualities in me that I’d decided to ignore for far too long. Ten weeks later, I’ve come out of my shell a bit more, and now I recognize that I’m actually more than capable. Yes, my enthusiasm is actually contagious.

So, my time with them is now over. That’s all right though because I know I’ll be seeing a lot of them in store. They’ll be tackling new challenges while I’ll be helping out new people. We’ve all got a long way to go. I know though that I’ve given them a great platform from which to leap from. It’ll be up to them to decide if they want to leap, but I have a feeling that they will indeed feel inspired to move on.

I can rest easy knowing that I’ve done my job, and I did it well.