Who am I kidding?  Yes, I’m working on the book because it has been a goal of mine for some time now, but to stop writing the blog completely?  Nah.  I’ve got too much to say apparently.  And tonight, I have to say a few thank you’s.

Leadership is cultivated, not something you are born with.  After a long time, I have learned to reluctantly say I am a leader.  It does sound rather presumptuous to say this out loud, but it is this learned leadership that allows me to speak up when I’m nervous or afraid, saying things that I might otherwise talk myself out of because I tend to avoid conflict like the plague.

As I’m working on leaving my past way behind, I will only reference it enough to say that it conditioned me to be wary of everything, never trusting myself or anyone else.  It taught me to do whatever I needed to do to be safe and that meant holding back on what I was feeling or thinking.  It becomes habit after a while.  But in the last ten years or so, I have been a part of a couple of wonderful organizations with the best of colleagues who have helped me to grow as a person and as a leader and I am grateful.  

Both my state and national music education organizations have given me the opportunity to serve, and I hope that what I did and continue to do has made a difference for others.  But what they have given to me in terms of the best of the best of friends and colleagues and leadership opportunities outweighs anything I feel I could ever do for them.  The confidence I am developing, because it is certainly a process, allows me to do and say more than I could ever imagined, pushing away that fear that keeps me from stepping up and doing the right thing.

This only comes when you have great leadership to observe and learn from, watching as they tackle the tough issues, making decisions that affect people in our profession, those training to join us and all of our students, the reason we do this in the first place.  These people understand that what they do is bigger than themselves and they teach me that sometimes change is hard and perseverance is important.  Their encouragement for those of us who work with them is energizing and for me personally, it causes me to work just that much harder.

And so I say a heartfelt thank you to my friends and colleagues Lance, Glenn, Rex, Neal, Joyce, Marilyn, Bryan, Leyla, Nancy, Denese, Michael, Kathy, Mackie and so many others, too numerous to mention.  I’m still learning but I’m beginning to speak up for what I believe in, for what I believe is best for teachers and students, and for myself, hopefully in a kind but firm manner.  And again, I’m grateful.