Filling up empty wells.

I hadn't realized I stored up quite a bit of anxiety about my RIT students during the summer - until about a week before their classes began.  I felt like things were not getting done, communication between me and the executive student leaders was like pulling teeth, and it was tempting for me to micromanage them.  It was like an empty well during a drought when you realize how thirsty you've become.

When I finally saw my students face to face, it was like the empty well was filling up again and the rain clouds were rolling in.  It was wonderful to see their smiling faces in person and not on a computer screen, and discuss things thoroughly without sound glitches or background distractions.

At my first RIT New Student Outreach (NSO) event, it was invigorating to see InterVarsity students in action.  It made me realize how much I just want and need to spend time with my students.  I don't just get to know them by talking to them, but by observing them - seeing how they interact with others, how they carry themselves, how they work under pressure.  What they do and how they do it allows me to learn just as much about them as what they tell me and how they say it.  It's totally one thing for someone else to tell you how much leadership potential a student has - it a whole other thing when you see it for yourself.