Complimentary compliments

I never knew how much a small compliment can go a long way. Or, maybe I did know and I forgot because I haven't been complimented in a looooooong time, at least not by a stranger. I was at the market today with my mom and I saw this guy who noticed me and was kinda looking at me semi-creepily, but only temporarily. He wasn't staring or anything, so that's a plus. He was near me and said, "May I ask what ethnicity you are?" and I said, "Oh, I'm Chinese." Then he said, "Oh, so pretty" and walked off without waiting for a response. It was such a sweet compliment and not creepy at all, as was my first impression of him. This got me thinking about compliments. They are such simple gestures that can make someone's day much brighter and happier. It doesn't take much time or effort and it costs nothing but can bring about such a positive impact. Maybe it's because of the lack of compliments I receive in my daily life that makes this one little compliment such a big deal. I don't know. I remember long ago, I would try to compliment at least one person a day. It really boosts someone's self-esteem, if only just for the day. I think it's worth paying someone a compliment. I told my friend about this semi-creepy man giving me a sweet compliment and I told her that I should get complimented more because I deserve it! Not saying it in a conceited way, I just have high self-esteem! haha My friend agreed that I should get complimented more... and then she complimented me. Something about getting a compliment from a friend ... it's just not the same as getting a compliment from a stranger. I feel that friends compliment you because they are you're friend, they like you, they know you, it's almost as if they HAVE TO compliment you. But with a stranger...they don't really have anything to gain from it, unless they're trying to get into your pants. I mean a TRUE stranger. One that doesn't want to continue any sort of conversation with you after the compliment has left their lips. These compliments are REAL. Maybe I'm just crazy. Compliments from friends can be real too, but I, personally, don't accept it as easily as compliments from strangers. I'm a weird person. :) Everyone should try to compliment a stranger on a regular basis, but only if it is genuine. Don't try to think of a compliment to give to that one person eating that sandwich in that one diner just to give a compliment. Do it because you sincerely mean it. It is great that compliments are complimentary! It's a great deed!

My Journey into Special Education

Since I graduated from university, I wanted to gain more experience with special needs kids. However, through many rejections/no calls, I realized that it was a tough field to infiltrate. I wanted to get the experience but they wanted people already with experience. Geez Louise! It's always the same dilemma in many fields. You want the experience but you can't get it unless you already have it! Do they not understand the impossibility of this? Well, it only took 3 years for this seemingly impossible task to become possible! Today, I started my first day of work at a school whose students cannot attend regular public school for one reason or another. These students have autism, emotional disturbances, aggression problems, etc. I am currently just a substitute one-on-one aide. This means that I work with a single student at a time with anything that they need. I do not know which student I am assigned until the day of. Today, I was assigned a particular student with autism. She arrives to school on a bus but her bus was in the parking lot and she was nowhere to be found. Other aides that have worked with her started giving me tips on how to work with her. All of them told me to be cautious because she is known to scratch and bite. She is very sensory, so she likes to be squeezed and tickled. Other tips were to give her short prompts - don't bombard her with wordiness. Let her think about what is said. She may need help walking. There was a lot of advice, I was trying to remember it all. Then the coordinator came and spoke to the other teachers in the same classroom. I heard him tell them that today is my first day and that he's not sure that this particular student would be a good way to start me off as she would be a handful. This worried me more than anything (not because she bites and scratches!) because he didn't think I would be able to handle her. She seemed like she would be an overwhelming case. I told him that I was ready and that I can do it! Everyone was preparing me so I was ready to just dive into the deep end. At first, I was quite nervous. I didn't know what was right, I didn't know what was wrong. I was pretty much on my own in the beginning. After she rummaged through some books and toys, she finally sat down at her desk. I let her do whatever she wanted for a while so she wouldn't be overwhelmed by this new girl all up in her space. She decided to read a book. She loves books! Then, I attempted to get her to do some desk work. It was great! I had looked through her logs and saw that she had worked with numbers 1-3. I tried to get her to show me the number of fingers but she was unable to isolate her fingers. I helped her with the fingers and I made her fingers touch mine to go with the sensory side of her. Then I had her match the numbers and she did wonderfully! I was so happy! Then when we were doing this, her previous aide came with another teacher to observe me. I was feeling the pressure to perform because it was my first day! They were a great help though! We had her spell her name using letter cards and then we took her to the swings for a break. Then after a while, her behavioral therapist came for a couple hours and she was also very helpful. We reinforced her good behavior, like staying on task and sitting nicely. I was with her for about 6 hours, but it didn't feel like it. I had a great first day! I hope the following days will be just as great. I'm not sure if I will get this student again because I am just a sub. I don't really care which student I get because I want to get to know all of them. I'm so happy to finally get the chance to begin my journey into special ed.