When people ask Melissa how many kids she has, she replies: 120. While three of them are biological, the rest are her students. Melissa explains, “I feel like they are my kids! I see them more than their parents see them!”
Melissa has been teaching high school English in a high poverty school system for over 20 years. She has seen a lot of change over the years. Her school is considered a low-income school and there is high poverty in the district.
“I take a lot of their stories home with me, and it keeps me up at night,” Melissa shared.
To relieve the stress she was feeling every night, she decided to seek out a new hobby.
“I was on Facebook one day, and I saw an ad that Michael’s Craft store was having a sale. People were commenting about getting a Happy Planner so I clicked around to learn more and saw that there were tons of groups on Facebook dedicated to this hobby called Planning! I joined the group and realized it wasn’t just about planning and organizing your days, but so much more.”
Melissa has been Planning for nearly 6 months, and this new hobby has added so much joy to her life. She sits down on the weekend, often with friends, and plans and designs her upcoming week with stickers, colored inks, and other embellishments. It has become a true place for her to express her creativity, stay on top of her tasks for herself and her family, list her goals and more.
“It’s been a really cool project for me! It keeps me focused and it’s very satisfying to see all of the plans for the week in a beautiful place!”
When we deal with stressful situations, our minds want to be consumed by thoughts that weigh heavily on us and affect us in all areas of our lives. Melissa’s ability to recognize this and seek out an exciting way to help herself is an inspiration to all of us. This new interest allows her to show up in the best head and heart space for her students and her family, which is what others need most from us.
We are so honored so have Melissa, an incredibly giving, creative and kind person as a Heartfelt Role Model!
