About Me
Below you will find my timeline created on Capzles and a glimpse into the type of person I am today.
Sonder (n): “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own- populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness- an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk” (The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows).
After my hour and twenty minute drive home, I tossed my keys on the counter, shoved handfuls of 99-cent peanut butter-stuffed pretzels from CVS into my mouth, and scrolled through Instagram, which was the “new, cool app” my students told me I should download. My typical double tap (“like”) and swipe pattern came to an instant halt when I came across a photo of the definition above that Rima Das, a student I had during my year-long internship at Plymouth High School, posted.
At the time, I was a second-year teacher, and to be completely honest, struggling yearbook adviser at L’Anse Creuse High School-North, newly married, and living in a house that was in the process of major renovation. I think within two months of that school year I had already convinced myself that I had the hardest life in the entire universe and spent the other seven months trying to persuade anyone who would listen to me of the same. As the year went on, however, I noticed people, including those closest to me, slowly making less and less contact, and soon, I was not happy with the teacher or person I was becoming.
Seeing Rima’s Instagram post instantly (ba-dun-dun!) made me recall my drive into work earlier that morning where, for the first time ever, I did not simply glance at the cars on the opposite side of the median but actually looked inside of them. I saw people of all ages showing various emotions while doing a variety of tasks. I wanted to know where they were going, why they had the facial expressions they did, and so much more. Despite the fact that I could have gotten in an accident, my experience that morning was truly enlightening, and I could not believe that there was a word for it, nor could I believe the timing.
Experiencing “sonder” has truly made me the best version of myself as a teacher, writer, technology leader, and overall person. I have a brand new perspective on life and notice a positive difference in lives I am a part of, as well as my own.
After my hour and twenty minute drive home, I tossed my keys on the counter, shoved handfuls of 99-cent peanut butter-stuffed pretzels from CVS into my mouth, and scrolled through Instagram, which was the “new, cool app” my students told me I should download. My typical double tap (“like”) and swipe pattern came to an instant halt when I came across a photo of the definition above that Rima Das, a student I had during my year-long internship at Plymouth High School, posted.
At the time, I was a second-year teacher, and to be completely honest, struggling yearbook adviser at L’Anse Creuse High School-North, newly married, and living in a house that was in the process of major renovation. I think within two months of that school year I had already convinced myself that I had the hardest life in the entire universe and spent the other seven months trying to persuade anyone who would listen to me of the same. As the year went on, however, I noticed people, including those closest to me, slowly making less and less contact, and soon, I was not happy with the teacher or person I was becoming.
Seeing Rima’s Instagram post instantly (ba-dun-dun!) made me recall my drive into work earlier that morning where, for the first time ever, I did not simply glance at the cars on the opposite side of the median but actually looked inside of them. I saw people of all ages showing various emotions while doing a variety of tasks. I wanted to know where they were going, why they had the facial expressions they did, and so much more. Despite the fact that I could have gotten in an accident, my experience that morning was truly enlightening, and I could not believe that there was a word for it, nor could I believe the timing.
Experiencing “sonder” has truly made me the best version of myself as a teacher, writer, technology leader, and overall person. I have a brand new perspective on life and notice a positive difference in lives I am a part of, as well as my own.