What was your happiest moment?

I’ve never cry-laughed more than I have in the past 24 hours with these kids. I don't understand how they are so funny and they clearly do not understand why I'm laughing so hard, but nevertheless, we shared a moment. These kids bring me so much joy. I feel like I have the best of both worlds here. When teaching the 11th graders, I am able to engage with the material on a deeper level because I find it both interesting an challenging. This makes me a good resource for the students and much more passionate about the content I am teaching. They seem to be enjoying my class, partly because I think they enjoy having a teacher that is closer to their age and more relatable, and partly because I think they genuinely enjoy my teaching (don't want to jinx it). They ask a lot more questions during class, but what surprised and impressed me most was when two of my students, Dinesh and Kiran, found me on their own time to get help on understanding some concepts. As someone who emphasized the importance of taking ownership of their education, seeking help when they needed it, and utilizing their resources including their teachers, I could not be happier. My work here finally felt validated, especially when one of my biggest fears was whether or not the students would respond to my lectures, let alone show enthusiasm on the first day.

"What was your happiest moment". This was the essay topic given to Kumar, a 11th grader who came to me for help on his writing. While I told him to brainstorm his ideas I started to think about my own happiest moment. I realized it didn't make sense to think of happiness as a single moment, but rather a series of events or a time period that brings a smile to your face. It wasn't crying because I was laughing so hard with Arasu, or playing soccer with Rakshita, or making jokes with Yogalakshmi that was my happiest moment, but rather these experiences combined together that define my "happiest moment".