Oviya Ravi Week 2; The Little Things
Ever since I was young, I waited for the day I would get asked to become an instructor at my dance company. I began my training in middle school, first starting to shadow during classes, then becoming an assistant teacher, finally getting my own class almost a year and half later.
One of the first classes I taught on my own was a group of 9-12 year olds. They are the perfect age group to teach. They are young enough to still get excited by minimal things while being old enough to follow directions and make my life a little easier. I remember getting to the studio the day I got my driving permit and as soon as I told them, they got more excited than even I had been. Every week they would ask me if I had driven to the studio and I would tell them about my bad parking while they laughed at me (not with me).
I started doing an activity with them at the start of every class. We would go around in a circle and share our favorite thing that happened in the previous week. My intention, at first, was to get them more comfortable with me and the rest of their classmates. It became our weekly routine; they started coming to class prepared with what they wanted to share. There was one class in which we had a new student so I asked my existing students to explain how the activity worked. One of them said, “Every class, we tell each other something exciting that happened and it is the most fun thing ever.” It was then that I realized that I was actually giving these kids something fun to look forward to in their week.
At our show that semester, my mom was a volunteer so I introduced her to my students during the intermission. Jokingly, she asked, “Is Ovi really a good teacher?” To this day, I have not forgotten their responses. One of them told her about how the second they saw me, they left their parents to come talk to me. Another told her about how loudly they screamed my name whenever they saw me dancing on stage. It wasn’t pride that built up in me, it was honor. I was honored to be a person in these kids' lives that they enjoyed seeing every week. I was honored to be someone they felt like they could trust. I was honored to be someone they were proud of.
That group of students really shaped me as an instructor and as a person. I finally understood that I didn’t need to do anything big to make an impact on people. It’s the little things, like asking about someone’s week or telling them they are doing a good job that really makes a difference in their lives. I hope to continue to make that impact on the people I surround myself with, one story at a time.
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/one-continuous-line-drawing-young-happy-1691866204
Oviya, to start, I really like the name of your submission, partly (mostly) due to the fact that it is the name of a 1D song that I really like. More about the submission though, I really liked the build up included–like you gave an example of a situation and then explained how the kids were affected and then in the next paragraph, you did the same thing except you switched who was affected to yourself, rather than the students. This feels strangely like RA...but I digress. I also admire that although they are your students, they ended up teaching you something that you still carry, almost like the effect they had on you was parallel to the one you had on them.
ReplyDeleteOviya, it is so sweet to see how much your students value you. It’s honestly just wholesome to read this—how you’ve realized the impact you’ve made in your students’ hearts. The part where you talk of your honor as an instructor rather than the pride you feel is truly moving. Your honor is so admirable and speaks volumes of your character and what you’ve achieved as a mentor. Being so passionate about teaching is also incredibly inspirational; anticipating the day you would begin instructing ever since you were young! This love for helping others grow is such a remarkable thing to have. Also, I personally find it amazing that you can be eager to work with kids. I too hope you keep making such wonderful impacts on people, and that they can in turn leave you with more beautiful memories!
ReplyDeleteOviya, that was the cutest story ever! It is really clear that you love those kids so much and they really love you too. I love how through this experience you were able to learn an important lesson through your kids. I hope you continue to enjoy teaching dance and sharing your positivity to everyone around!
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