To teach is to learn

I've spent one day a week for the past 8 months doing one of the best things I've ever done: teaching multi-media thinking and web production to a small group of post-grad students.

Yesterday was the last day of class, followed by the requisite party of course. As I made my slightly wobbly way home, I must admit that I was so pleased, I was actually talking to myself out loud. I was telling myself I was proud of me, for taking a big chance last fall, adding one more commitment to my calendar, and seeing it through. It wasn't always easy, but every single minute of it was worth the work and the worry.

I've had a crazy life, so far, and my endeavours and adventures haven't always worked out well. I've had some spectacular failures, I've had some wonderful strokes of good fortune, and I've learned that if you get a few more of the latter than the former, you're doing okay.

I'm proud of me for the effort I put in on this project, but the truth is that fortune shaped the results more than I could have. I was extremely lucky to work with a group of students who helped me teach at least as much as I helped them learn.

Every first class is a bit special, I'm sure, but these amazing characters are a particularly special bunch. Smart, creative, challenging, open-minded, and genuine, they did me the great honour of letting me be myself in a brand new role. I really feel like a deeper and better person for the lessons that entailed.

To Adrienne, Ayanda, Meg, Mike, Rafiq, Rob, Sofie, Valerie and Violet... thanks for joining me on one of the great journeys of my life. May fortune smile on all of you as you set off on your own new journeys. You're a class with class.

OWID class of 05 with Jay Ingram.