Today was not my best day. Not long after 3:20, I collapsed in my friend Nikki’s room, frustrated and feeling like there was really no point in going back tomorrow.
It’s 4th quarter.
And I feel like this most 4th quarters, but not usually until late April. As I drove to piano lessons, I willed myself to find the positives in the day, and just couldn’t.
After a dinner of french fries, I watched last night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Last week, Stephen Colbert announced that Fallon was donating $26,000 to DonorsChoose.org. But Fallon had made no such arrangement. Last night, Colbert crashed Fallon’s show to guilt him into honoring the $26,000 committment; Fallon asked his viewers to help. (It was all quite funny, by the way.)
So this plea for $26,000 in donations to DonorsChoose.org–a charity that directly benefits teachers and students–aired about 20 hours ago. So far, 425 donors have given over $13,000 to various projects. That’s an average of $30 per person. Sure, some have given more an others less, but look at what 425 people can do in 24 hours.
And that’s what snapped me out of the funk.
Today might have been bleak for any number of reasons, but people in this country ARE committed to helping educators and people in this country appreciate what we are trying to do. Despite the overpowering media messages about how schools and teachers are failing, I’m willing to bet there is a silent majority who thinks the work I do is valuable and necessary.
In the time it took me to write this post (and participate in a chat for a Twitter class I’m taking), Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert’s project has increased to $14, 273 from 465 donors. That’s in one hour.
Look at what people can do.
Thanks, Jimmy and Stephen, for restoring my faith in humanity on a day when I thought it was gone.
