Idealism and red stripey outfits

I was thinking today about my late teens and early twenties when I sincerely believed I could change the world. Like for real. The whole world. On my own. Or at least I thought I could make a significant dent in it.

And I was thinking how much I've changed, probably not in a good way. Definitely in a realistic one. (Oh aging, you do wise us up, don't you?) These days, I listen to NPR and think about how impossible it is to change even the littlest things. I get so mad about so much. I almost made it my New Year's Resolution to listen to/watch less news, but I'm not a news junkie, not at all, and I don't think the answer is to be uninformed. It's worse to have your head in the sand, right? Right.

So here is a picture of my comfy boots, and I am now going to write the comfy thoughts I think to myself to feel better about things -- I became a teacher to make the world a better place. I am for serious that cheesy and idealistic. I know I'm not going to make the whole world a better place. I know I'm not going to change laws or policies. I'm not going to have some big societal impact, but every single year, I can make the lives of the students in my classroom better. Just those kids. I can make it my goal to make them excited about learning, to give them chances to be creative, to listen to them, to encourage them to run down paths of crazy thinking...

And I'm a mama now so of course I have a huge impact on my sweet, little Thomas. That little nugget slays me. Slays me! I can't even deal. There we are in our matching red stripey outfits. Great minds think alike! And by that, I mean my great mind dressed us both. So yes, this outfit. I like it. It is cozy. My thrifted red sweater. My favorite wordy dress. Big ol' socks. Comfy boots. An awesome outfit to wear when feeling exhausted yet still idealistic.