The Journal presents my weekly reflections on being a private, Catholic school principal during what promises to be a year filled with energy, excitement, challenges and possibilities…
I am a different principal now than I was at the start of this year. I can sense something of a microwaved growth in my approach to leadership. I hope all of this has made me better. As it turns out, I am thankful for my experiences and challenges and, yes, for the pain.
My mind is cluttered with pop culture references. When a situation presents itself for a timely movie quote, I am a go-to guy in conversation. When someone asks “who played that character?” I typically know the answer. If someone wants to know the secret identity of a superhero, come to me.
And when I sit down to compose this blog every week, once my subject is determined, I usually have a movie quote or scene that fits the particular bill. More often than not, these are sourced from my first pop culture love: Star Trek.
Though I try to resist relying on these influences weekly, today is different as the quote that beamed (see what I did there?) into my mind when I settled on a topic was too perfect.
In the much maligned (justifiably maligned?) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the intrepid crew of the starship Enterprise is confronted by a mystical Vulcan with psychic powers who, through making them relive a terrible memory, can free them of its effects. Walking through the darkest parts of their lives with this Vulcan takes away relieves them of their emotions surrounding it.
Captain Kirk famously resists. To his good friend Dr. McCoy he says: “Damn it, Bones, you’re a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can’t be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They’re the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away. I want my pain. I need my pain.”
If I have learned one thing during this year of the pandemic, it is that it has been very, very painful for very, very many people. While I and my family have not suffered as others have – we have been healthy, we have been secure and we have been safe – I would be lying if I did not admit that, for my part, a significant amount of pain has been associated with serving a school this year.
While I have attempted to cope with it in a healthy manner, I have – more often than not – wished that I didn’t have to face it at all or that it would disappear with a wave of a magic wand.
But today, in light of a few days removed from the work and approaching the Thanksgiving holiday, I feel differently. I feel something like Captain Kirk (I like feeling like Captain Kirk).
I am a different principal now than I was at the start of this year. I can sense something of a microwaved growth in my approach to leadership. I hope all of this has made me better.
As it turns out, I am thankful for my experiences and challenges and, yes, for the pain.
I don’t want my pain taken away… though I wouldn’t mind a little less of it!
We are averaging 5 positive cases a week right now, and we haven’t been in-person for a bit. These are the cases we know about. Thanksgiving Break (and travel) is upon us. What happens next makes me a bit nervous…