Be happy, and great things will come

Two major television events occurred last night: the Hope for Haiti Telethon to raise money and awareness for the earthquake victims and their troubled town, and Conan O’Brien’s last run hosting The Tonight Show. Although neither had much of any connection to one another, they both had my heartstrings in a tight stronghold. I knew the telethon would have this effect on me before I even watched it, as the concept of a nationwide rally to openly give money and time to people we don’t even know is truly touching in these often selfish times. Performances of “Let it Be,” “Rivers of Babylon,” and other humbling songs by famous artists brought me to tears several times while watching the event.

However, I was most surprised to also find myself in tears by the end of Conan O’Brien’s show. I started watching the episode still quite annoyed by the whole Tonight Show debacle, and I thought it was silly that Conan had to leave the show after only seven months. But once he started giving his closing monologue, my perspective changed. He kept saying how he thought of himself as one of the most fortunate people for having the opportunity to have such a prosperous career. Even though his Tonight Show run was cut much shorter than expected, he saw it as a fantastic experience and was truly proud of every moment he had there. Just because things panned out not quite as expected – which rarely happens in life anyway – he could not have asked for a better job with better people. Above all, he hoped that if he could teach his audience one thing it would be to not feel cynical about the issue. Negativity is one of Conan’s least favorite traits to embody, for he is sure that if you stay happy, great and wonderful things will inevitably come your way.

It’s often hard to remember not to be cynical or negative when life isn’t going quite how we expected. I feel it’s simply human nature to get bogged down by the bad when we feel at our lowest. And at school, the bad surfaces a lot more often than I could have ever expected. But why should I focus on those moments of weakness? I’m only hurting myself if I immerse my thoughts in all the things that went wrong in a day, and positivity is an infectious feeling that I should try to give my students every day. After all, they could use a little positive energy a lot more than I could.

So to give my salute to one of my favorite television hosts ever, I am going to follow his direction and reflect on the happy and fulfilling moments of my week:

- One of my kindergartners told me that she went home and taught her mom how to read and write rhythms.

- I was able to command the attention and respect of the ISS students (arguably my toughest critics in class) quicker than the teacher running it.

- I was able to gather a group of fourth graders at literally the last minute to rehearse the Star Spangled Banner to sing for an assembly. They trusted me enough to agree to sing for all grades, including the Junior Academy. My “Lil’ 10” is now ready and willing to sing whenever I need them.

- Several of my classes actually sat quietly to listen to and read about Mozart!

- An eighth grader who once proclaimed to my face that she didn’t need to listen to me because I was shorter than her was suddenly sitting by me during the basketball game and telling me who was cute on the other team.

- I also gained a boyfriend at the game. Granted, he’s only five years old, but that’s just a minor detail (literally! Hah!)

Those are only a small handful of the many happy moments I had this week. What happiness can you find in your life?

P.S. – I know that the last time I mentioned a brand name, a representative from said company actually saw my blog and commented on the post. So if any Conan O’Brien reps out there are reading this, tell him that I think he ROCKS!!