Positive Peeps

I want to dedicate this blog to all my teacher friends (and non-teacher friends) who help remind me every day to look for the positive.  They do this with their attitude.  They do this with their smiles in the hallway when we pass one another.  They do this with a wave of the hand across the Media Center or a shout into my classroom as they arrive in the morning and pass by.  They do it when they remind me it's almost Friday.  They do it when they send a student over to my room with a little gift or note.  They do it when they ask if I'm feeling better when I've been sick.  They do it when they offer help and support.  And one special teacher friend even makes a point to stop in each day with a big smile and a cheerful "hello"!  [read between the lines: my BFF]  

Without all of you, I wouldn't be able to maintain this self-imposed year of positivity! I would have probably thrown in the towel around day twenty (remember conferences, Ice Cream Social, Curriculum Night, new kids, new parents, new school year?). For  128 days I have tried to purge every negative or not so nice comment or thought from my mind and replace it with something positive.  Has it always worked?  Sadly, no.  But what matters is I am so conscious of it that I no longer allow myself to continue down the path of negativity. It may not work every time, but it's pretty close.  Now, I'm smiling more and when I smile I mean it!

I find when I am in conversations with other teachers, as soon as the dialogue takes a more negative turn, one of us will say, "That's not being very positive!"  or "Let's be positive!" and before you know it we have switched the course of the conversation.  Some teachers see me and say, "Oh, here comes Miss Positivity!"  or they tell me when they see me it reminds them to be positive.  I'm like a giant, flashing neon billboard screaming out:  ** P - O - S - I - T - I - V - E ** .

In addition to being happier and more positive, I've also learned a heck of a lot about blogs.  I know how to add videos and links and pictures.  I can change the layout and put gadgets on my blog.  I've done countless hours of writing and researching and looking at other blogs and articles about the power of positivity.   I've learned that I really enjoy writing, and although I'm certainly not going to write the "Great American Novel", I will at the end of this year make a hardcover version of my blog (yep, I've already figured out how to do this).  I'll put it on my shelf and pat myself on the back.

So, with many more days yet to go, I'm thanking you all in advance for your continued help in my quest to stay positive. 

Without all of you, this would not be possible.