I had a dream the other night about my high school history teacher Mr. Farina who I haven’t seen since I graduated and he retired. I was ridiculously happy to see him, even in my unconscious mind. Back then, he saw something in me that I clearly didn’t at the time and his belief in me had a huge impact on my sense of self-worth. I’m pretty sure he didn’t know how deeply I was in the grips of insomnia and depression (my anxiety I’m sure was fairly obvious) and how unhappy my homelife was, but he took me under his wing. He made me feel seen and feel like I had something to offer. He made me want to do well, both for myself and to please him. I don’t remember him doing all that much or going way above and beyond for me, but there’s something so powerful about having a teacher take an interest in you like that. It was great to feel like there was an adult on my side who believed in me. I needed it back then.
Cultures of care and solidarity
Cultures of care and solidarity
Cultures of care and solidarity
I had a dream the other night about my high school history teacher Mr. Farina who I haven’t seen since I graduated and he retired. I was ridiculously happy to see him, even in my unconscious mind. Back then, he saw something in me that I clearly didn’t at the time and his belief in me had a huge impact on my sense of self-worth. I’m pretty sure he didn’t know how deeply I was in the grips of insomnia and depression (my anxiety I’m sure was fairly obvious) and how unhappy my homelife was, but he took me under his wing. He made me feel seen and feel like I had something to offer. He made me want to do well, both for myself and to please him. I don’t remember him doing all that much or going way above and beyond for me, but there’s something so powerful about having a teacher take an interest in you like that. It was great to feel like there was an adult on my side who believed in me. I needed it back then.