Blank Pieces of Paper

I'm going to be a teacher. Surprise!

 Just kidding, you all already knew that. Anyways, this past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to an Early Childhood Conference and take some of the classes there. It was a really awesome experience, I learned a lot, and I even got to learn how to paint! But there was one thing that I learned at this conference that really got me thinking.

            In one of my classes, the presenter handed each of us a blank piece of paper. That's it. No pencils, no crayons, just that one piece of paper. Then he started talking. And he talked about sometimes, there will be children who walk into our classrooms who are wearing the same clothes as they did the day before, kids who haven't brushed their teeth or combed their hair. And lots of people will look at these children and groan, and tell you not to try to hard with that kid, because they are not going to amount to much, if anything. The presenter went on to talk about how we need to see all of our children as blank pieces of paper. He then told us this story, that really defined what a teacher does. It's a little strange, but bear with me, it all makes sense in the end. He told us that he had the blank paper, and as he was holding, it talked to him and said “Teacher, I want to be a singer. My dream is to sing!” And he looked at this paper and thought well that is silly, you are a paper, there is no way you can sing! You don't even have a mouth! And then he began to think, because he really wanted to help, but it really wasn't possible. And then he came up with a solution. And he picked up that piece of paper and said “If you will trust me, I will mold you into something so great and wonderful, something so much better than you ever dreamed possible. But, you have to trust me.” And the paper said that he trusted the teacher, and so the teacher began to fold and bend the paper, and he made him into a baton. And when he was done, he said, “There! You do not have a mouth, so you can not sing, but I have made you into the most beautiful baton and you will lead the most amazing choir. Would you like that?” And the paper began to cry, because he was so happy, and even though his dream hadn't come true as he had expected it to, he was still able to create beautiful music.

            That really stood out to me, because that is exactly what we as teachers need to be doing. We need to be able to see every single student that we ever come in contact with as that blank piece of paper and really think of all the potential that everyone has. You never really know what exactly someone is capable of achieving, maybe that kid in your class who wears the same clothes everyday is going to grow up to be the next president. Wouldn't you treat that child differently if you knew that? We can't see the future, and so we need to do everything that we can in order to provide a good foundation for them to build upon.

             Now, some of you may be thinking “This is a good story and all, but Nicole, I am not going to be a teacher, this doesn't apply to me...” Oh don't think that! Because this can be shaped into a very valuable lesson for every single person. Just you wait.

             There have been many General Authority’s that have given talks about how with every person that we see, we ought to picture them in white, and to picture them as divine beings, as some of the most precious sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. That's exactly where the story of blank pieces of paper comes into play. Can you all just take a minute, close your eyes and picture what it would be like to see people as blank paper, with all the potential in the world? How would you treat people when you realize that there is no limit to the things that they can achieve, to the greatness that they could become?

I actually had an experience similar to this a few weeks ago in the Logan Temple. My room mates and I had planned to go to the Temple together and so one morning, we all woke up early and went to go do baptisms. Now, if you know me, you know that I am not a morning person, and I was so tired that I didn't bother putting my contacts in, I decided to just wear my glasses. However, I didn't want to deal with them while in the Temple, so I left them in my locker in my purse. I am not blind, but I definitively need my glasses or contacts. I can see colors and general shapes, but other than that, I have no idea. Anyways, I was walking around the Temple semi-blind, and I realized that I could suddenly see people the way our Savior sees us. I could tell that there were people all around me, the Temple was actually super crowded that morning, and I could see that everyone around me was dressed completely in white, but that was all my earthly eyes could see. I realized as I was looking around, that I couldn't tell who was 'pretty', who had more talents than I did, who had more money that I did. In those moment, we were all equal, all special children of a Heavenly Father who loves all of us more than anything I could ever dream of. And suddenly, my spiritual eyes were opened, and I felt this intense love for every single person who was there with me that day. I didn't know who had blue eye, who had acne scars, all I knew was that every single one of us had the potential to achieve a greatness so much better than we could ever dream of.

         Since this, I have been trying to continue to look at people through my spiritual eyes, to see them as our Heavenly Father does. I am not saying I am perfect at this, cause it is still really hard to do sometimes. But, I have noticed that when I take the time to see people as blank pieces of potential, not only am I able to understand them, I am slower to anger and annoyance, and I am able to love them. Love a complete stranger! When I am able to see people as the Savior sees them, they become wonderful and special to me. And like the teacher with the paper, I want to do all that I can in order to help them achieve their greatest potential, even if I can only play a tiny role in that.