When Someone Notices You

Today was a rough day, I'll just admit that now.  But something interesting happened today.  A moment that hit me like a ton of bricks.

All of us in education do incredible things, and many of the things that we do go completely unnoticed.  We can even think about that in even our personal lives.  Many times we do things around the house, or for our spouses, or children, or other family/friends that never seems to be noticed or acknowledged by anyone.

Lately, I've had the opportunity of being recognized for some of the things that I was doing and the recognition has felt nice.  I worked in trenches for years and never had anyone see anything I was doing until I started posting the things my students were doing online.

But then today, someone who I didn't even realize ever noticed me, messaged me, and brought up something they had seen that I was doing that really made an impact on them.  And wow, it made an impact on me as well.

We can have those moments where we achieve great things, and then someone can knock you down so fast and make you feel like a piece of trash.  Even in the midst of celebrating great news this week, I've been reminded on several occasions the destruction that can come from a hurtful comment.

But today, when someone noticed me, when someone I never even would imagine ever making an impact on contacted me, it made me stop.  It made think.  And it reminded me that each of us make an impact (positive and negative), and that many times we don't see the impact we've left on someone.

But the more important part is the feeling of being noticed.  So today, I encourage you, take time out of your day to remind someone around you of their value.  To remind someone that you see the great things around them.  Take the time to notice someone.  Because I promise you it makes a world of difference.