If you would have told me that I would not be returning to my job as a high school mariachi teacher after spring break, I would have never believed you. It has been one of the hardest challenges I have encountered as an educator and human being. Although I had heard about the “Corona Virus” in late December, I never imagined it affecting us in Texas, much less, the Rio Grande Valley but, it did. It got here and it got here fast! The initial days were the hardest. Not only was I living in fear, I was having to learn to navigate “distance learning” and it was not an easy task! I had no time to learn new ways or trace back to our inservice days where we had our chance to learn about Google Classroom or using educational apps such as Seesaw and Flipgrid. I remember using them a couple of times, but as the days went by, I found it easier to teach the way I had always taught my mariachi students, as a group and one-on-one setting.
I felt the stress and the anxiety overcome every part of me. I was watching the news, reading articles and checking updates on the virus on a daily basis while I dealt with trying to become the best teacher I could be for my students-online. I worried about my parents, my siblings and my husband everyday. I worried that I would lose my job if I didn’t do enough. All of these fears led me to a point where I felt that a drastic change was needed in order for me to be “ok.”
I had always practiced spirituality, but I had never really taken the time to connect in depth to what I was practicing. In a sense, I felt I was a spiritual being on the surface, but nothing I learned actually penetrated my core. I had this sudden change of character where I felt that I needed to connect to God. Maybe it was a calling of some sort or a spiritual message from within but it happened and it made me feel like I went through a fast spiral where everything I was before felt unusual and frankly a bit “gross.” I began to shed my negative ways like certain animals shed their skin. My thoughts became more positive and I was conscious of my words. My fears minimized and I began to feel a sudden urge to exercise. Strengthening my body became a priority. I no longer had to make myself want to do it. I began to see people a bit differently and I stayed away when I felt I needed to. New opportunities opened and prosperity reigned in my household that led me to bring my visions to life. The list goes on.
I feel grateful for the things that I learned and the person I became while being “stuck” at home. Perhaps it was meant to be this way. Could it have happened otherwise? I will never know but, what I do know is that I took a different road into becoming a better and a more grander version of myself and I will always thank God for that.