Some Things Can Not Be Quarantined, Like Persistence
Friday, December 04, 2020
Dear Kopila students,
I miss you so much. I miss your smiles, your bright eyes, and your good morning maggie moms more than words can say. You are the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to bed. I even dream about you while I’m sleeping!! I know these times have been incredibly difficult for you. I have cried so many tears at the thought of not seeing you at school and on campus each day. Closing the school and moving to distance learning was such a difficult decision, mostly because we love you so much. You make our school come alive every day with your laughter, your singing and dancing, your care and concern for each other, and your dedication to your studies and your learning.
These last 8 months have taught us persistence and I have seen with my own eyes again and again and again how you continue to persist throughout these challenges. I have watched you listen to lessons over the radio, fill out hours and hours of homework on your distance learning packets, walk for miles carrying rice and food kits on your back for your families, grow your own vegetables, and read books to keep your reading going strong. I have seen you check in on your friends and neighbors and other families in your community and help your younger brothers and sisters and around the house. I have seen you adhere to lockdowns, wear your masks, and do your part to keep our community safe from this virus. According to the dictionary to persist is to continue onwards difficulty, opposition, or failure. This year has been filled with the most incredible hardships the world has ever seen and you inspire me every single day with how you continue on with dedication, determination, and perseverance for your education. It is the challenges in life that shape us the most and although I wouldn’t have wished this year on us or on anyone in a million years, I really believe that in the end and many years from now when we look back on this you will be stronger and proud of yourself for persisting. You have proved time and time again that you can do hard things. I want to thank you for your persistence and end my love letter to you with this quote from a man the world admires and who I think embodies persistence more than anyone I know.
"If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run then walk if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
My love for you reaches across the ocean and can not be quarantined. We are stronger than this pandemic. We will persist.
Maggie Mom