Making a Difference - Continued

I went to school today with a different attitude.  My day started off as it usually does. Hit the alarm, eat my peanut butter toast and chocolate milk, read my emails and blog posts.

As I read down to the end Colby Sharp's post, I stopped - all because of a simple paper plate, and it completely changed my outlook on my day.

Yesterday, I wrote a post for Spiritual Journey Thursday about making a difference. There are many days when I ask, does what I do really make a difference?  Today, I was reminded of the answer.

A former student of Colby's very tragically died last week.  I first heard about it from a tweet he sent.  Today, as he celebrated with Ruth Ayres, he celebrated the life of the young girl.

But for me it was a celebration of making a difference.  When he had this beautiful young girl in class, he awarded her with a "Super Star Award," an award made from a paper plate.  When he attended the funeral, the paper plate award was there on a display.  Obviously, that paper plate made a difference in her life, or she would not have kept it all these years.

So, this morning, I have been giving out extra smiles, making it a point to speak to certain students and asking about their day, and yes, I even gave a little extra time to students who didn't have their assignment done.  We never know when that little something extra will make such a difference in the life of a student.  We never know if we will have another chance.

Thank you Colby and thank you Lauryn for showing me that yes, we do make a difference - one student at a time.