Jusjess Poetry – Growth, Healing, and Discovery

“May we all find our purpose and how to use what we have to go far, leaving behind the stigma and the naysayers and stepping into our power.”

– Said by me… Taken from one of my recent social media posts.

Wait, teaching is your dream job?

Not to sound cliche, but I am currently living my dream job. Aside from being a mother and a writer, I have always wanted to be a teacher. But not just any teacher: I wanted to teach and guide children in an academic setting who may have similar obstacles and struggles that I had as a child. When we dig into demographics and statistics, we know that there are many communities of households that don’t have access to resources, there are mothers and fathers trying their best (and some who may not) to keep their households afloat and there are many children who can easily become “lost in the sauce” when it comes to their ability to connect their home and academic environments. For many kids, school is a safe place. School is where they are guaranteed to have a meal. Some spaces in their academic environment provide such a level of comfort that they come in and want to sleep for a part of their day as feeling safe allows the body to relax.

Of special note:

***Being born with or developing a disability does not only impact children and households of any one ethnicity/race or socioeconomic status. That was my personal reflection and connection as to what draws me to special education, and I love teaching each of the diverse students who I have been blessed to work with. There is no amount of money or a specific sexual orientation, educational level, or social status that prevents/ leads to a child having a learning disability. Challenges do not discriminate.

I had to do my own internal work first…

Now, would I have been able to fully step into this calling, or any calling to this degree before the last few years, before now? Absolutely not. My attempts at successful careers (the military, being a paraeducator on the west coast) were fulfilling and didn’t end negatively, but they came with no longevity from me as I was half-stepping my own therapy and healing and still dodging those deep childhood topics which displayed in the form of unhealthy patterns as an adult. I am happy to say that I am bounds away from where I was in 2011, 2015, and even 2019 and 2021. I am ready and able to be an example in a way that fills me with purpose. And to my (somewhat) surprise, I am doing a good job at it, and I am making positive impacts as well as learning so much. I want to do this for many, many years. Successfully. 

Arming myself with the educational tools and the knowledge and teaching ability in addition to my first hand experiences that I have had with emotion regulation challenges, ADHD, ptsd, and more – teaching special education brings to me this soulful, purpose affirming feeling. I have shared a ton of vulnerable writing on my blog and across social media platforms, much in which I had to fine tune and stay mindful of – for I am a growing human who is also a poet and nonfiction writer and a teacher living in her own neurodivergent world and household – and I am constantly doing the work to address the root of my own life missteps.

That social media post I mentioned above. The full post:

” ❤️‍🩹✨ I just spent some time reading more articles about neurodivergence – the neurodivergent umbrella – and the diagnoses that exist and overlap within.. or underneath said umbrella. 

Poetic reflection: 

There’s no need to reiterate shame for differences. May we all find our purpose and how to use what we have to go far, leaving behind the stigma and the naysayers and stepping into our power. I don’t know about you, but I like it better over here on the side of self-acceptance. ❤️‍🩹 ✨ “

I could go on and on about why being a special education teacher is part of my divine purpose, but I will end my writing prompt response here. Although challenging, it is rewarding to do what I now do for work, and whether a student’s challenges are social, emotional, behavioral, or academic, I feel connected to each of them and only want to arm them succeed and feel confident in their abilities to thrive in school and in the world. And I get it. I totally get what many of them experience, but they are too young to hear all of that! Thanks to those who have taken the time to read this! I welcome comments and interactions, so don’t be shy but please do be kind.