personal narrative...i am not a writer...help me. due 12:30 tomorrow. thanks.
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Personal Narrative
I am walking down the empty, quiet hallway of Rockbrook Elementary School. Everything is clean, fresh and ready for a new school year. I am not a student at Rockbrook though; I am an Educational Assistant in the Special Education program, otherwise known as TLC. This is my second year here, so I know what I am up against, but I am about to take on a new student. Tiffany Leonard, a five year old in Dr. Smith’s Kindergarten class. I have only seen a photograph of her. In the photograph I saw a petite, five year old girl with a cheesy grin. She is Harmless, right?
RING! Goes the bell. It is 8:45 and students start filing into the building. This is it, she should be here anytime. Sooner than later an itsy bitsy, scared girl walks into the room clutching her mother, Lisa’s, leg. She is thin as a rail with blonde hair and blue eyes. “Hi Tiffany, I am Ms. Sunde.” No response. I get that look; you know the one, the “I don’t know you why are you talking to me” look. Lisa assures her we are all nice teachers and she will have fun at her new school. A very hesitant Tiffany chooses to trust her mom and let her leave. Here goes nothing.
I spent the rest of my day showing her around or rather darting after her, as she curiously got into every possible thing she could get her hands on. Her attention span was no longer then 30 seconds, her speech wasn’t very clear, and she constantly asked “what happened?” I got home that night and felt like I had gone through an endless obstacle course. I was chasing her, stopping her, redirecting her and talking to her all day, but I made it.
Throughout the school year she began to settle in. She developed a relationship with me. I fell in love with her energy and excitement. It was almost as though I was seeing my own daughter accomplish and learn new things. I was brought to tears when she wrote her name for the first time, recited her phone number after hours of practice, read her first book and understood new assignments. I went through so many emotions with her. Days filled with time outs, field trips, hugs, bad words, laughing, smiling and crying. Let’s just say I now know the overwhelming icky feeling that comes over parents when they are angry with there children! At the same respect I now understand why my dad is sappy and wants to be a part of my life always. Never in a million years did I think a five year old girl would do that for me.
When the news arrived about getting into school I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I knew telling Tiffany wouldn’t be easy. Lisa, Tiffany and I went to lunch and tired our best to explain that I was moving to a new city that wasn’t in Nebraska and that I wouldn’t be her teacher any longer. She seemed unaffected by the news and It had me worried she wouldn’t get it. It didn’t sink in until my last day of work. We were having lunch together and out of the blue she bit me. I then asked why and she answered “I bite you because you are moving and I love you!” I knew then she got it and she didn’t know how to say she was frustrated. I hugged her and explained as best as I could that I loved her too and I would visit often. She then hugged me back and calmed down. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy, but we did it.
I made it through the first day, month, semester, the first year and even a second. Quite frankly I didn’t think I would. I didn’t think I had it in me, but there was something about this little girl. She taught me patients and tolerance. Being responsible for someone else’s learning process is a big job. I feel like I succeeded everyday when she would amaze me with something new she had mastered. She really does and will continue to mean the world to me.