In the days leading up to full-time teaching I generally go haywire in trying to find the perfect selection of read-aloud book for as my grandfather always called them "my little cherubs." Though in the realm of life, my third grade selection of global read alouds for them probably doesn't matter all that much, I've convinced myself that it indeed is a life-changing decision. This is probably again why I have not gotten the hang of work life balance. But then again, if your work is not actually work but a pathway or a calling, then there is no such thing as needing to have such.

And in some ways, maybe it is life-changing when thinking about language and literacy and identity development. I actually can remember the novels that were read to me or recommended to me in elementary school and through them it changed my way of viewing or thinking about the world and so I hope to do the same. In revisiting some old read alouds (though I generally never use a book more than twice), I came across a quote I focused on three years ago in the middle grade novel Fish in a Tree. "Everyone is a genius in their own way. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll go its whole life believing its stupid." I listen to a lot of people walking around, and I cannot help but think that for so many of our students we give them this impression that they "are a genius" or are "not a genius." And personally, I think every individual in this world was obviously brought to life for a reason and therefore brings some sort of genius to the world we have not seen before. Maybe their genius is hospitality. Maybe their genius is passion for ideas. Their genius could be sports or activism or mathematics or coding. The list is endless.

And then I think that this majorly impacts identity development later on in life because if you internalize this idea that you have to look a certain way or act a certain way or be a certain way because it seems that society perceives you as such, you're climbing an endless tree branch when you should in fact be allowing your soul to swim in a body of water that was best meant for you. So my question for you today is: if your soul was a fish,  do you find yourself trying to climb a tree or are you perhaps allowing your soul to seek contentment in the way it was meant to seek contentment?