I recently came across a tweet that just shattered me. It was from an educator that was sitting in her car debating whether she should go in and teach her class or just quit right then and there. After twenty minutes in the car, she decided to turn in her badge and keys. Sadly this educator is not alone. It’s the beginning of October and educators across the country are not ok. My heart breaks for them, and I feel helpless.

I’ve been thinking a lot about intuition lately. Some people call it “gut instinct” or “following a hunch.” It’s been formally defined as the ability to understand or know something immediately based on your feelings rather than facts.

And just like that, summer has almost passed. Were you able to spend time recharging or did you continue to charge through life? If you have a little more time before the school year starts, please take a moment to plan something, anything, that fuels you.

For the last couple of years, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing three things that I am grateful for every day. Because of this, I thought I was a fairly grateful person, but a recent injury helped me understand that there are many things I took for granted. Being able to walk was one of them.

I recently spent some time on the beautiful island of Kauai. I grew up there as a small child and it was a calming feeling to finally come back home. When I wasn’t in the water, I had some downtime to reflect on this school year.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Day. First and foremost, for those of you who are educators, thank you for everything you do for students every single day. Although I have never been a classroom teacher, I had the privilege of collaborating with inspiring educators across the country during my eight-year tenure at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (known to the world as Edutopia), and I can tell you that what you all do is nothing short of a miracle.

April has arrived, and with it comes one of the fastest vaccine roll-outs in U.S. history. In the last month, I’ve witnessed educators around the country sharing the exact moment when they were vaccinated on social media, while tears of joy and relief trickle down many of their faces. It’s bittersweet for me.

Many of you know that I love to kayak. If there’s a week that I’m not on the water, I tend to feel uninspired and stuck in the doldrums of life. I get this “fish out of water” feeling from my father who grew up sailing the San Francisco Bay, and he got that feeling from his father who skippered some of the biggest ships into the Bay.

2021. That feels so good to say. I don’t know about you, but Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb" has stuck with me. It's made me reflect on the challenges we face as a nation, as well as in education.

As I write this, COVID-19 cases are surging across the US; it’s triggering for me to put it mildly. I never thought I’d be saying that I am thankful to have been able to be with my father as he passed from this deadly virus, but I am. My heart goes out to the thousands of people who will not have that opportunity.