directive

Some say it's a cop out to show a movie during class. True. My lesson wasn't as prepared as I wanted, the classroom was too cold to be moving around, and yes, I was just very tired. Enter Wall-e. Teaching middle schoolers can be draining. Teenagers on the cusp or within the pains of adolescence means lots of whining, lots of moodiness and lots of attitude. This is, after all, the phase in which one believes they know everything about the world and the indubitable assuredness they carry simultaneously makes them seem older than their years and younger than they actually are.

Yet, the thing that I truly savor in when showing Wall-e in class is the return to childhood. I sit in the front, next to the screen as the small little robot blunders his way through a clumsy courtship of the sophisticated Eve-probe. As I watch my students watch the movie, faces that were just a moment ago hardened with the distress of friendship feuds, bad grades, and family problems light up with innocent laughter. It's a transformation that I stupidly relish in. Watching my students turn back time, if only for 45 minutes, to a place where a 15-year-old can laugh just as freely and unreservedly as a 7-year-old.

In the same way, there are moments when I can seemingly turn back time, forgetting present troubles to reminisce about fond memories. Then there are times when I would rather forget the past, wishing I hadn't had certain experiences or heartache. But more and more I'm coming to terms with things that I cannot control, things that I cannot have. Some people call it "settling," others call it "making the best of the situation." I guess life is just full of things that are pretty shitty. Then again, it's all the happy little stuff in between-- playing Super Mario World late into the night, food dates with friends, running into a fresh wind, simple laughter-- that makes the whole ride worthwhile.