The Art of Perpetual Disappointment (A User's Guide)

The title says it all. Growing up, I was convinced I didn't like school and school didn't like me. Then, I became a teacher. Looking back, I'm wondering; is this really the truth I want to settle for? Too many people share the same story. The story that tells how people don't fit in their environment and end up hating their whole journey through education or, in the worst cases, they drop out. It's the same statement we have all hear at least once. We're agreeing with each other on how the system failed them, failed us, and how it bullied us through and through for years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging those who are actual victims of the system and for whom, this story is unfortunately too real. Only, I'm second-guessing my own story and deciding that, I don't want it to be mine anymore. As far as I can remember, I've always heard my mother say that: "Icried so much the first two months of school, she had to bring me back home for a...

"I grew up without grandparents." For most of my life, here's what I used to say when someone would ask me about my parents' parents. A few days ago, a new perspective hit me; what would their version of the situation be? That's a habit I'm trying to take up: whenever the situation doesn't work with me or triggers me for some reason, I now try to think of someone else's perspective in the situation. I actually don't believe it's something I would have been able to do a few years ago but I guess, that's what you call getting older, right? The facts are clear: grandparents are important. But, how important? Apparently, they're significant figures of one's life when growing up. They represent older age, past opportunities from life and their consequences. They're living examples of a life lived. They're someone's heritage and help carry memories down generations, tales and stories that give people a sense of belonging to a ...

When I was eighteen, I wrote and posted online my first stories. The quality of those early stories was, to be blunt, bad. But I was just so happy with my productions, I was so proud of the few words I had managed to put together, that I was shamelessly continuing my works with the same smile on my face. Some might say I lacked objectivity. They might be right. But, looking back, I find myself being inspired, even impressed at my younger self for having such a faith in something I hadn't had any guidance in, ever. I was so sure of what I was doing that I completely forgot about my peer's opinion and kept on doing my thing because it brought me pleasure and a feeling of finally achieving something I was meant to achieve at some point. When you get there, you don't ever want it to go away. After a couple of years following that same path and managing to gather a small audience of dedicated readers, I stopped. Writing became an effort, the pleasure was gone and the stories - e...

I'm a nostalgic kind of gal'. As a 90s' kid, my comfort show is any show that I used to watch on TV when I was younger. There's something about those square-shaped episodes, blurry backgrounds and saxophone solos that just deeply warm my heart. The jingle starts and all of a sudden, I'm eight again, sitting on the floor in front of the TV in our old family house, eating my after-school snacks while watching the massive screen that was, at the time, heavier than you could ever imagine. Besides the fact that I have grown into a bill-paying-adult and own now the smallest, thiniest and lightest TV there is on the market, I have changed along the way and have noticed that what was once acceptable is now a red-flag that I'm surprised to encounter as if it was never seen before. I'm therefore forced to acknowledge that our societies have evolved as well as our values. Is that a good or a bad thing? Well, I guess that depends on the person you used to be, are and wa...