“The Desiderata” by Max Ehrmann, Interrupted

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

I am learning that an elevator speech is hard when you care more than you can convey in 30 seconds. When I tell people that Arlo is in school full time, my twins are in school three days per week now, and that I am “starting a business” or “working from home,” I know that’s not enough. 

But when I start to explain what I am up to, I feel icky just saying that I am a “consultant,” albeit both true and concise. 

In my heart, though, I will always be a teacher. And while I haven’t been a daily-grind literacy teacher since 2017, it feels like it is part of who I am to my core. So while “consultant” does give me a title these days, what I really want to do is help kids. Truly, really, actually, impactfully, help. 

When I start getting passionate and explaining my vision in more words than I should, I try to give wait time so the person to whom I am speaking can process. Sometimes, I am met with Dora-the-Explorer-type blinking and then something canned like, “Oh that’s great.” And then, I try to be quiet. Because if there aren’t follow up questions, that person may be at the limit of their interest. And that is okay, I tell myself.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Another foreign part of starting a business is talking to people you know and many you do not know and trying to get them to believe you’re smart and kind and good and worth it. But when trying to pitch all of this to someone, you have to be calm and convincing. Confident but not pushy. Firm without being annoying. Explanatory but stop before loquaciousness. 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Comparison is unavoidable. There are other consultants, more experts, others who know more, who do more. Folks who make more money, who know more things, who are more convincing and less vexing. And that is also okay.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

In May of this year I filed paperwork for my new business, Give Them Tomorrow LLC. My goal is to work with educators, schools, and organizations, to set up the programming I worked so hard on at Lillie May Carroll Jackson: student-led conferences, passage presentations, mock interviews, career days, panels, high school choice, and more. I see myself working with the people who are too busy to pour themselves into these important pieces of students’ futures. And I am obsessed. 

Student-led conferences (SLCs) replace traditional parent-teacher conferences. When I first started teaching and looked like an 11 year old, I wore fake glasses to try to appear more serious (I used the same glasses when I took my car into the shop back then). Parents would either take the opportunity to yell at their kids in front of me or I was expected to explain how to make up for years of deficits in 9 minutes. SLCs put the child in charge. The student explains their learning, their test data, their goals, pieces of their work, and some reflection of their character education and plans for growth. It’s brilliant.

So far, my ideal situation has been meeting with an educator in person, learning about their school community, and writing up a proposal for how I can help them build, pilot, or improve their student-led conferences and/or future education. I can help anywhere from planning the events within the school schedule, writing the documents the students will complete, creating lesson plans, planning and conducting professional development, drafting explanations for families and staff, and anywhere in between. 

I have shifted, rewritten, revised, massaged, and improved all of this work for several different leaders with different goals. I’ve taken these programs from three-prong folders to binders to google drive to websites, through lockdowns and hybrid school, to back in person. I know this work. 

There are those moments when I’ve snagged the meeting, scheduled the call, made someone belly laugh, or fostered a connection. And it feels so good. Like maybe, maybe this will work out after all.

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

I have also decided that being that I am not a business person in my soul, the best thing I can do is be myself. I can’t wear shoulder pads. I do not carry a briefcase. I have no idea what to do with most makeup products. So, I am left with me. I have a sequined backpack my mom gave me from Walmart. I have really nice hand-me-downs from Morgan and some great finds from Savers and Goodwill. And I have this personality. If I am not the type of person you would want to work with, I probably do not want your business. The only shiny things I offer are those sequins and my oily skin. The rest is just me.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

When you have no office and no coworkers, everywhere becomes your office and everyone becomes your coworker, if you want that. I have gotten better at listening to the advice I receive from other consultants, teachers, friends, family, and my therapist. I know that bouncing things off others is what helps my process. So while I don’t have any actual coworkers, I pretend I have several. I talk through most meetings with Shar, Chas, and Aubrey, taking perspectives from each of them. And I am lucky that I can focus just about anywhere in Baltimore.

I’ve also been slowly welcoming and embracing my own wisdom. I have been in schools for 15 years and I do actually know what I am talking about. 

My gentle attitude toward myself has come in the form of running on my work days, listening to audio books, and keeping a log of what I do, listing each item in under the title “wins.” I am my own hype woman. 

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

This part of the poem has always been my favorite. I once found a rock in the back of my grandfather’s basement with this stanza written on it. This quote couldn’t be further from his personality which is why it really surprised me and stuck with me. 

When I show up at a school or on a Zoom or make a call, I have to remember this. I do have a right to be here. I have guided so many kids through the processes I am attempting to foster in new schools with more educators and more students. I am an expert. 

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Like an old friend who I really needed to reconnect with, I have revisited “The Desiderata” many times throughout the last several months. These reminders are helpful and bring me back to my purpose: to have a happy family and to help the world. 

I am so fortunate to have a partner (Chas) who is encouraging me and supporting me to pursue this plan. So while so many things in 2025 feel like they’re being bulldozed, I hope I can build something meaningful that helps others build their own meaning, too.