It’s Ok to Cry at NCTE.

I only cried 7 times yesterday.

And I should clarify – these were not breakdowns of sobs, but rather emotion over lowing my soul to the point where it could try to escape nowhere else but my eyes. Yet, my eyes would not completely let go, as if they thought this feeling might disappear with the tears. It wasn’t something I wanted to release and my emotional capacity was certainly challenged.

Education is a multi-dimensional profession, encompassing the variety of school cultures, teacher journeys,personal reflection processes and of course, diverse groups of children. When you put this all in one physical location, the passion exponentially grows in a way that fuels the soul and pushes you forward toward intense amazement at what we do as educators.

I’m no stranger to mass gatherings of people who flock to one place with a shared passion; You might say I am somewhat of a “crowd-sourced passion” junkie, ranging from countless concerts over the years, now to Twitter, Edcamps and large conferences. I’ve found that it really doesn’t matter what the reason is- music, children, teaching & learning- this is what sustains us in a world where it can be difficult to verbalize why we do what we do, why we love what we love.

Meenoo Rami reminds us to turn to mentors and build our networks to “Thrive, not just survive.” And when I had the opportunity last night to process the power of these networks with Tom Newkirk, Linda Hoyt, Mary Howard, Lisa Eickholdt, and so many more, it’s humbling to know that whether you are an author or avid reader & teacher-learner, the fact that we all share the same goal means we all reach for the same support: each other.

So, thank you, so deeply, to everyone here at NCTE- the Heinemann family and beyond- for linking arms as a force for good. We will all thrive as a result.

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