Prompt: Write about the example you hope to set.
All right, the prompt for today is, Write about the example you hope to set. Oh, wait—the date. It’s July 29th, 2026.
This is an interesting one. I used to think that I wanted some sort of posterity. I wanted to leave something behind, essentially, that people would later find or remember me by, or something of value that contributed something to society.
And I guess, you know, being a teacher, hopefully my students walk away with something that helps them in their lives. And, you know, I don’t expect many students to remember me, that’s for sure. I don’t remember most of my teachers. I certainly don’t remember all of them. But I do think that there are some teachers who leave a lasting impression on you. And maybe, for some students, I will be one of those teachers. Maybe I’ll be a teacher like that for them. But I don’t expect it, and frankly, I don’t want it.
I do want to be a good teacher at the time, but I don’t want it to be something that they remember. And it’s not self-deprecating in that sense. It’s more that I think, as I’ve been in teaching longer, I want it to be more of a job than sort of a calling, or a vocation, or even a craft.
I think when I first started teaching, I wanted it to be a craft. I thought of it as a craft. But now I want to back away from that and move that energy into, well, my own business and my own things, you know, with SANA Stationery & Gifts.
And now, really, with fatherhood, I think that’s the big one. I think simply by having Emi, I have a legacy of some sort.
But what I do want her to learn is only the best parts of me. And that means understanding where I need to improve, accepting my faults and my foibles, and then putting in the work to correct for or manage them.
And I think, of course, Emi won’t be perfect—except she is, you know, because she’s my baby.
But she will necessarily have faults. She will necessarily have weaknesses. She will definitely have areas for improvement. And I think it’s really important that she’s able to identify those, accept them, and remedy them.
In fact, I think if she does view them properly, they’re opportunities for growth and improvement.
She’ll take over the world, which is exactly what we want.
Yeah, I guess that’s kind of the example I want to set, you know, for her at least.
But then, I guess… I don’t know. I don’t know. Hopefully she’s okay.
Yeah, I think right now in my life, that’s where a lot of my energy is going. It’s into figuring out how to make sure that she’ll be okay, that she’ll be the best that she can be because, well… yeah, that’s my job, isn’t it?
Yeah. Right on.
You can find this prompt and more at Letters Lounge, www.letterslounge.com.
Of course, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this or any of the others. You can even tell me about the example I’m setting for you, so please do leave a comment or a link to your blog or audio journal, and I’ll be sure to check it out.
Right on, folks. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
This transcript was lightly cleaned up with the help of AI to improve readability while preserving the original voice and intent of the recording.
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