Compassion

There seems to be a few teachers that just have a gift.  The gift of connecting with their students and being there for their students at any time, a sense of compassion.  So of course, I do have a story to show how the compassion of a former teacher really made an impact on my life.

My first year of college really got off to a rough start.  All senior year in high school and throughout the summer, I had been sooo excited and ready to leave home.  I was ready to experience the independence that comes from being away from your parents.  I was ready to make new friends, get involved in lots of activities, and just get away from the drama-filled high school experience.  I was ready for a fresh start, and I was given the opportunity.  Only one other person from my high school would be at the college and I was an over an hour away from my family.  While I know that really isn't that far, but it was just far enough that if I wanted them to come to  a band concert or just to have lunch, that they would be able to. 

The first thing that made that first year tough was the feeling of being out of my comfort zone.  I have always been shy and reserved when I first meet someone, and I feel that I have missed many friendship opportunities because of this.  So my first big obstacle was becoming more outgoing and willing to try new things.  So I went out of my way to meet some of the girls living on my floor, and made several connections right away.  This was a great feeling since I was literally friendless and that was a new feeling for me. All of my friends back home and been friends since kindergarten, but we all headed to different states for college. 

Once the school year got rolling and classes started, everything became quite overwhelming.  I would have anxiety attacks about going to certain classes because I felt like everyone knew everything already and I had know clue what was even going on.  I felt that in no way had high school prepared me for the challenge of all this material and especially not the workload that was given.    I was also having some trouble with my living situation. Yes this was my first time sharing a room, so that was one adjustment I was really having trouble getting use to.  Another was my roommate.  We were just not meant to live with each other, and so that put more anxiety on me.  Although I didn't really get homesick, apart from just missing my own bed, I had what I like to call "family sick."  I was having a really hard time not seeing my parents and sister for weeks at a time. 

So it came that time for my first violin lesson of the semester.  I was pretty nervous, because my professor was quite intimidating. I didn't know his personality and he was super tall, which I feel to be a bit daunting. Anyways, he welcomes me into his office and asks me how everything was going.  At this point, not  that many people had asked me how I was doing and I just lost it.  I started crying right there in his studio.  I was truly mortified.  But he just sat me down and handed me the box of tissues, all while I was sobbing and apologizing profusely.  That day I didn't really have a lesson.  He just took my lesson time to find out what was going on and making sure that I knew everything would get better with time.  His kindness and caring that day truly made me feel grateful to be going to a school where the faculty truly want to know how their students are doing and taking the time to talk with them.  I had that much more respect for my violin professor after that day.  And sadly, there were a few more times when he just happened to ask me how I was doing and I couldn't hold it in any longer.  There really are no words that can describe how much his compassion meant to me.