Thanks to Twitter for increasing my circle of PLN (Personal Learning Network). One evening as I was watching TV I got a message from Dr. Ilene Alzaid, who invited me to be her guest on her podcast “Journeys To Belonging.” I read her message twice maybe three times. I was excited yet nervous! If you know me you know this is out of my comfort zone! I couldn’t believe it. I messaged back asking for more details about what I would be talking about and how it all worked. Very patiently, Dr. Illene answered all my questions and gave me more or less 3 topics to choose from. As you know, I picked my favorite topic which was speaking about my role as an AP. I would be discussing how I support my students and staff when it comes to belonging and what I do to try and bridge the gap between my International and local hires. We set the date and time and I began thinking of what I was going to speak about.
The night before I couldn’t sleep. I kept thinking about what I would say. What if I mess up? What if I bored Dr. Ilene and the audience? All the what ifs came through my head that night.
The day had come and I was absolutely nervous. The podcast was scheduled for 4:30pm and I remember that I had no appetite. I just wanted it to be over and done with. I got “ready” and was on 5 minutes before our actual time to make sure everything was fine with the WIFI connection. I was all set up and ready to go. Dr. Ilene got on and meeting someone virtually for the first time felt surreal and weird. I still felt as excited as if we were face to face hugging each other. We finally “met” after following each other for a few years on Twitter. We chit chatted before she began recording our podcast. She walked me through what she was going to ask and told me that she would begin when I was ready. READY? ME READY? READY? ME? NEVER! I remember I froze and my palms got sweaty and I was beyond nervous. I took a deep breath and told her that I was ready. She introduced me as, “My first Kuwaiti Educator”. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted the time to pass quickly. She asked the first question and I paused. I took time to think about it and then answered. I didn’t want to rush nor speak quickly as I have been told I tend to do that when I am beyond nervous. I tried my best to slow down. Once I got into it, the time flew by!
When she was done, she asked if I had any advice that I would give to teachers. I had a long list but my number 1 piece of advice was whether you’re in your first or tenth year teaching, it is essential to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with each of your students. When Dr. Ilene ended our podcast, I felt that I could finally breathe. We chatted for a few minutes and she complimented on how well I did! It was an amazing experience and I am so thankful for this opportunity and for Dr. Ilene reaching out! This was definitely out of my comfort zone but when it was all done I enjoyed every minute of it.
If you would like to listen to the podcast click on the link below the picture.
