#ProjectKindnessBook – Page 2 – Jenna Jamieson, Author

The mountains we call life!

By Jenna Jamieson | October 5, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

As if we haven’t heard it a thousand times that life is full of highs and lows and twists and turns. It’s something our parents tell us, our teachers told us, and something you can hear and witness every single day. Sometimes life seems glamorous when we are young (and, it certainly is at times and most definitely more times than not!), but it isn’t always glamorous. And, it is important to teach your children this, your students this, and all the people around you this. It makes that fall to the ground a little bit less painful in the end.

I am a new teacher surrounded by many veterans, but we all have bad days, the ones who are new and the ones that have tons of experience. I was recently evaluated and the class didn’t really go as planned, not at all, not even a little bit. It was stressful, chaotic, and more than anything it felt like a bit of a failure. That day was you guessed it…a mountain. But then again, in life, almost every single day is going to present you with a mountain (or hill) of some kind. It’s the reality and we must come to accept that when we plan things out in our head and they go in a complete different direction we recognize it is as a learning experience and not a failure. Now, not all people will lead you to believe this – you may not have friends, family, bosses, supervisors, leaders, or people that believe that a loss of profit, a bad decision, or a poor evaluation is a learning experience, but it is.

My evaluation did turn into a learning experience and a lesson to stick in my pocket. It’s one I can carry with me. That evaluation will make me a better person even if I would like to forget about it. This leads to the last part. I work with a wide range of students. Some that have family and a great home and others that aren’t sure where they will sleep that night. Students that eat out often and others that aren’t sure when their next meal will come. It came at just the perfect time. Less than 24 hours later I received a note about the impact I was having on several students.

What’s the point of sharing these highs and lows? Because it’s life. You can translate this to your own life, job, relationships, and chaos. Life is full of moments where you feel like you have reached the peak of the mountain and feel like you have met success, but you will also find challenges and frustrations right around the corner.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Diversity can change the world!

By Jenna Jamieson | April 30, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

If you know me, you know I love diversity. The first time I remember heavily considering and thinking about diversity is in 8th grade when I begged my mom to move high schools so I could be in a more diverse district filled with lots of ethnicities and different cultural experiences.

I love diversity because I love what it brings to my life, and more than anything I love what it teaches me. Similarly, I remember as we headed to Ireland to elope that I recall how noticeable the diversity was in London and Dublin. From the waiters and staff that helped with our wedding to the many people that we met, the vacation was filled with Muslims, Indians, Americans, Romanians, and many others.

These experiences have further reminded me how much I appreciate and love to be immersed in projects and opportunities that expose me to people and students with different opportunities, educational backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, and experiences.

I hope others are able to learn and appreciate those they are surrounded by and the communities in which they live. It is so easy to judge those who are different, but I personally prefer to learn from them, and I hope you do, too! We can learn why they do things the way they do, why they wear the clothing they do, what their religion means to them, how their journey brought them to where they are now, and so on.

Back to the whole high school story which is what set me on my path of wondering about diversity. We eventually moved and I loved my new high school that had so much more diversity, my alma mater, and where I now have the privilege of working. I once again was lucky enough to witness the diversity at prom. I realized how lucky I am to be in a place that offers so much diversity and experiences for me to grow.

It is so easy to judge those that are diverse or different than us, but I hope at some point we learn to embrace them because of the many great things they can teach us. I challenge you to think about this next time you are helping someone from a different culture, someone that isn’t like you, or someone that may be far different than you are used to. All the diversity we see and have among us is what brings people together to invent new things, find new cures, expand community projects, teach our students, and ultimately to change the world!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Finding meaning among structured chaos!

By Jenna Jamieson | February 28, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

This new adventure at my old high school has proven to be a very fun one. I love getting involved and supporting the students. The atmosphere is awesome and that’s probably what I love most about being there. There are great ways to give back and that’s what I find really cool about it. I have the opportunity to impact the lives of young high school students and that’s pretty remarkable. I have the chance to inspire, motivate, and encourage them to follow their dreams and find something they are extremely passionate about.

Since joining the CCHS team, I have helped at a robotics competition (which I knew very little about), volunteered to judge our school’s talent show, and on a more personal level I have begun working on a project to collect backpacks for Carbondale students who cannot afford them.

I have learned that some things work really well in the classroom and some ideas don’t come to fruition the way I anticipate them to. I have taken notes and written pointers, hoping to improve projects and activities for next year. I have gotten to know my students much more, and that’s something I really enjoy. Beyond the quizzes, handouts, projects, presentations, and work that I do with my class, I hope I leave a small imprint upon their life that inspires them to go out into the world and do something for others – to give back, be kind, and be willing to offer a helping hand to someone else. I hope I inspire my students in ways that help build their self-esteem and confidence. More than anything, I want my students to know they can come to me when they need a listening ear. After all, teachers are not only there to teach their students, but to motivate them, mentor them, and offer positive reinforcement along the way.

I challenge teachers who feel stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted (which I do!) to remember to channel the reason why you entered the profession to begin with. You have the power to do so much in your classroom. While there are benchmarks to make, topics that have to be covered, and work that has to be completed, remember that your students need you. They need your support, kindness, and help because while you’re pushing papers around and doing work, you are also shaping a person. We, as educators, have the ability to change a student’s life!

As this second semester wraps up, be sure to consider your role in your students’ lives and in the community. As a new high school teacher, I feel a bit overwhelmed, at times lost, and sometimes surrounded by structured chaos. Sometimes adding more stress, more projects, more chaos, or more anything seems impossible, but it is actually always possible. With a wedding in less than a month (that has turned into something far bigger than I wanted or anticipated), the publication of my #ProjectKindnessBook, and planning meaningful lessons, I feel like my life is zigzagging in lots of directions. Some days I feel defeated, but I keep swimming.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Share Your Joy!

By Jenna Jamieson | December 22, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Tis’ the season to remember that Christmas isn’t a happy, cheerful, fun, and joyous time for all. Some find this time of year to be extremely hard due to loss, stress, anxiety, financial strain, or internal struggles that many of us may not even be able to see.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the holiday lights, the music, and the lovely Christmas and New Year’s festivities, forgetting the many people that have no one to share the season with, or don’t feel the happiness that others feel throughout the season. There are kids that won’t have presents under the tree on Christmas morning, people suffering from depression and anxiety, divorced parents that must share the holiday with their ex-spouse, and endless situations that create anger, sadness, and uneasiness.

Remember that you have the ability to change that for someone. You can use your joy to help put a smile on the faces of others. Smile at those who are hurting to give them hope and strength that shows them you care. After all, your smile may be the best part of their day. Consider changing the way you celebrate Christmas by decreasing the amount you do in your own family so that you can help give to another family. Further, be willing to reach out and help strangers by delivering cookies, gift certificates, or presents to a family in need. You could help someone putting air in their tires, a shopper who can’t reach groceries on the top shelf, or holding doors for senior citizens. Be sure to also show a little extra appreciation this time of year to those in the customer service field, including retail workers and food service employees who work tirelessly and endlessly throughout the season (often at very low wages) to ensure that others are able to create special memories with their loved ones. (I speak from experience on this one!)

As you wrap up the holiday week, please keep in mind all those that may be suffering. Those are the people we desperately need to reach out and offer a hand to. It can be as simple as a smile, or as elaborate as offering to give to those in need. After all, there are many people that struggle to even meet their basic needs this time of year and all year long.

So my challenge and hope is that by reading this you choose to use my #ProjectKindnessBook to spread YOUR cheer this holiday season. Your cheer could be the difference in someone’s life; even if you only change one life this holiday season, that is better than none. Happy Christmas with love and hugs from me to you! May 2017 be the year of spreading kindness to strangers.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

A new year of kindness!

By Jenna Jamieson | October 31, 2016 | Comments 1 comment

I just turned 29, which matters for a few reasons, but not for the reasons you might think. It wasn’t really all about celebrating me, or eating lots of birthday cake. Instead it was about completing my first full year of my #ProjectKindnessBook goal. I have a picture of each random act of kindness for the 28 things I did to help change the lives of others throughout the previous 12 months. I didn’t post very many of them on social media, and I didn’t count the things I did for friends or family as random acts of kindness. In fact, I actually took the pictures to keep myself accountable and to serve as a reminder of the positive actions I have the ability to do for strangers and people I barely know.

Not only was it a time to wrap up my year of 28 random acts of kindness, but it also meant it was time to start my year of 29 random acts of kindness. It has helped remind me to give more, take less for granted, help strangers, and cherish what I am able to do for others. My year of 28 random acts of kindness proved to be a bit difficult at times, probably because it was my first year. My #ProjectKindnessBook initiative was a new thing for me and I wasn’t sure what type of random acts to do that would keep it anonymous. By the end I had so many different ideas of what I could do, including an overabundance of ideas to use this year. I now have many ideas on how I can give to strangers without identifying myself to get recognition or credit.

With only a few weeks into my year of 29 random acts of kindness I am farther ahead than I would have anticipated at this point. The random acts I do are almost always for individuals and families rather than donations to causes or organizations because I hope to touch the heart of everyday people in the world – people of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, gender, and race. My year 29 random acts of kindness will have a minimum of 29 different things I do, but by the looks of it thus far I will probably far outreach my goal which is a great thing. That makes me happy because it means I am spreading more random acts of kindness out into the world. I hope others will join me on my journey of giving back and spreading kindness all around us and throughout the world – no matter where you live. Happy sprinkling random acts of kindness wherever you are! View my Project Kindness page or visit my previous post What is #ProjectKindnessBook? to learn more.

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

What is #ProjectKindnessBook?

By Jenna Jamieson | June 16, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

I have almost completely finished my #ProjectKindnessBook which focuses on the bumps in the road that life presents and how to get through them successfully. In a nutshell, it is a book about the twists and turns of life, learning, and giving back to others.

Along the way, I offer bits of advice to “stick in your pocket” to carry with you through life. I don’t have everything figured out and am still eager to learn more from other’s experiences. The one lesson from my pocket that I have come to understand most is that the roadblocks in my life have allowed me to reach inside myself to create a path that has led to where I am today. It has taught me that it is never too late to accomplish my dreams. This book being a paramount example of accomplishing a dream.

It has been the most challenging and time consuming project I have ever taken on yet a very fulfilling thing I could do for myself and others. Stick the stories, quotes, and advice in your pocket and pull them out along the way to use in your own life. By the end of my book I hope you recognize that the little things are precisely just the little things. I didn’t learn this overnight, but rather through my experiences both personally and professionally over time. I wrote this book knowing that I am a “work in progress.” I am not perfect, but the stories you read are about learning and giving. It was a learning curve, taught me more about the world, and expanded my growth as a person. I hope it does the same for you. It is meant to give you new perspective about others and teach you something about yourself. If nothing else I hope it reminds you that kindness and giving will give you purpose–purpose that will change your life.

My “Project Kindness” is meant to encourage others to pledge their age on their birthday as the minimum number of random acts of kindness to achieve in a year just as I have chosen to do with mine. I challenge you to help me make the world a kinder place by pledging your birthday as a way to give back. Learn more by visiting jennarpjamieson.com!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness