The Light of Imagination
For imagination to take place in reality, it first must be thought and hoped upon
Written last 2017.
One of my definitions of imagination is of anything that has not yet happened, but can happen, even with the smallest of possibilities. For imagination to take place in reality, it first must be thought and hoped upon. The person must believe that imagination can become reality. But they must also acknowledge the fact that they must also act upon it, taking initiative and making changes for imagination to take tangible shape. Then from the actions done, one will notice the changes taking place.
It might start slowly, but slow still means progress.
In a perfect world, the pre-service teacher would see herself as one who can easily manage the time of being a teacher-in-training, at the same time a student with little to no difficulty in dealing with academics. The pre-service teacher goes to her classroom, with the lesson plan ready, with the instructional materials all eye-catching, child-friendly, and ready to use for the lesson. All the students greet her with smiles on their faces, ready and eager to learn. And once again, her heart bursts from the passion and love she feels for her profession and students. After class, she goes to the university and studies hard, working eagerly with her groupmates for the thesis; all working cooperatively, knowing they will be able to apply these skills in the near future. Upon going home, she plans and prepares the next lesson plan, makes the next instructional material, strategies, her methods, and techniques for her students tomorrow. She will be sleeping late again or maybe not at all, but having little rest is a small price to pay for teaching and molding the next generation. Finishing all these, ending the day with a thankful prayer, thankful God had chosen her to be a teacher, one of the noblest yet most fulfilling professions the world has known. She lies on her bed with a smile on her face, thinking of the wonderful possibilities of tomorrow; and the same routine goes by.
But, we all know this is not the case. We are aware that what we are doing, imagining the perfect scenarios that makes our hearts burst with light, will also be the very thought that will break our hearts once the darkness of reality comes knocking on our doorstep. There will be days that the pre-service teacher had overslept; when the ten-minute nap unexpectedly became a ten-hour rest, when she will arrive at her classroom in a sour mood for not preparing the lesson plan and the instructional materials needed for the day. There will be moments when the students become too much to handle and the thoughts of doubt, of giving up start to settle in. The thought of becoming a good teacher will begin to look unlikely. Going to the university, studying suddenly becomes such a burden. Going home, all she wants to do is go to sleep, and hating the fact she can’t. She questions God of why she had chosen this program, where the profession has a low income and overworking is likely to happen. As she closes her eyes, after finally preparing everything needed for the next day, she’ll wonder if it is all worth it.
Yes, we are very much aware of the unsettling reality; where some days, we’ll want to give up. Where some days, we’ll wonder if what we are doing is worth it. But for now, allow us to keep the faith, the hope, and the light of imagination to someday be the perfect teacher teaching in a perfect classroom, even when the darkness of reality begins to set. For to know darkness is not possible without light. And to know of light is not possible without the darkness. There will be moments that despite of the darkness, a student will thank you for the lesson today. There will be days, when a heated argument between your groupmates suddenly changes to laughter for a wrong word pronounced and said. There will be times after a tiring for teaching and learning, the Lord brings encouragement to your chosen profession, and saying, “Let the little children come to me, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” When darkness comes bursting in, light will always find a way, even if it is as simple as a silver lining. So let the darkness of reality settle in, and with hearts full of competence, of commitment, of compassion, we will continue to aspire for the light of imagination to fully take place.
