It's been way too long since, I Blogged, over 2 years, I keep saying I will make a goal to start again, but never seem to do it. Reflections on something at work brought me back to High School.
At work a long time ago, my previous manager push pulled and dragged me kicking and screaming into what I could call leadership in a part of our station. ( I'm purposefully being vague because I don't like to directly discuss things from work. ) I'm not even sure he was even aware that he was doing this, (well, yes he probably was aware, he hated this particular area) it was a part of our job that was going ok, but just ok. I reluctantly started paying more attention, taking some initiative to make things better. As time went on, we got new leadership, I was at the point where I had decided to deliberately take the reins of this area and my new manager was not only willing to let me charge ahead, but he supported me in trying new ideas and let me succeed and fail with how I wanted to do things. I think, I inherited some stubbornness, and had decided that I was going to make this work and be the best. Because I had/have great leadership who let me grow, and even more because I have a great team in which we all deliberately support each other, we have made this area of work into a great success. In fact, within our company, in this area, I will call us the best of the best. I have stats to back that up.
I was reflecting on this the other day and part of my high school was brought to my mind. Back in the day, everyone who was anyone was in choir at school, well, lots of us were. As with pretty much any Jr High or High School Choir, the girls far outweigh the boys. It leads to an unbalanced choir, plus, in our case, not enough seat in the choir room so the choir had to be divided. It was divided into "Concert Choir" and "Girls Choir" You had to try out for Concert Choir, and if you didn't make it, you were in Girls Choir. Us in the Girls Choir, we all knew we were second string, and it kind of showed. At First. The main Music Teacher, didn't have the time or desire to put forth the effort to teach Girls Choir, but they brought in Mrs. Morrison to lead us. She took charge of us and changed how we thought about Girls Choir. She refused to let us be second string. I remember how she would push us to be the best. She used to tell us "your not Olivia Newton John singing 'Sandra Dee' in a soft breathy voice, you need to sing and project your voice" We didn't get by with skating by. When the school provided Choir Robes for Concert Choir, but refused to buy us uniforms, she made us want to have a uniform and we all bought black skirts and white shirts, we had an 'In" at Target and knew they were going to be on sale. We looked awesome. It was a team decision to wear a uniform and a team decision as to what that uniform would be. We all had input and it just worked. We knew we were second string as far as others thought, but we weren't second string in our eyes. This was because of Mrs. Morrison. She taught us all how to be the best we can. There was a change in us from the first day of Girls Choir to the night of our first concert.
I realized the other day that the lessons Mrs. Morrisson taught me, have stayed with me. Looking back, I've used that "we are not second string" a lot in my life. Take something that works ok and make it the best. Teachers today have it tough, but teachers back then did too. I don't know if teachers realize the impact they can make on students every day, and that those students still live with those lessons over 30 years later. If anyone knows where Mrs. Morrison is, please let her know, she made a difference.
Follow up to the Choir saga, Junior Year, I made Concert Choir and hated it. The instructor wasn't a team player, he constantly talked down others and yelled at us a lot. When I called him out and asked him to stop insulting other school choirs and talking bad about them, (after class and in private,) he told me I didn't have the right attitude for Concert Choir and if my attitude didn't improve, I wouldn't make Concert Choir next year. Uhm yeah, I didn't even try for choir and my senior year was the only year of school I had no music in. The life lessons he taught me, still stick with me, I learned from him and putting others down is no way to raise yourself up, it just makes you look petty.
Concert Choir was full of talented kids, they made great music. And So was Girls Choir.
