Do you remember where you were when ____? This was a question that I had always heard about happening for when you are part of a historic moment. They are called “Flashbulb Memories” because they are events that are so powerful and impactful it is as if a mental image is forever associated. Historic events that everyone remembers along with exactly where they were and what they were doing.

Moon landing, Royal weddings, JFK Assassination, MLK Jr. Assassination, Mount St. Helens eruption, President Obama’s Inauguration. The first flashbulb memory that stands out to me were the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. All these events are hugely different, but memorable in the sense that something changed as a result. There is a collective remembrance because it affected more than just you.

Little did I realize that March 11, 2020 would be another one of those days.  I was in a staff meeting learning how to sanitize the room properly, as phones started to get messages, my fellow staff members and the students in my room were all perplexed as we got the news that we were closing schools for the next two weeks. At the time, two weeks seemed a bit crazy, but if the trends were to increase that was being proactive. Here we are a year later, I have not had students in a physical classroom since. The way that this has caused me to look at my identity and look at how to pivot and still do the things that I hold near and dear. Do you remember where you were when you got the news of the Covid 19 pandemic closing in?  

We are not where we were a year ago, we are not where we will be a year from now. Wherever you find yourself today I hope you know that it is another day in a field of many. We never know when the flashbulb moments are going to happen. Take some time to think about the things that have happened in the past year and the things you hope to have happen in your next 12 months. If you were to live today as your best self and leave it all on the table, what would that take?

Living not with the “I wish I had.,” but instead the “I’m glad I did.”