The Urban Dictionary says that hustle is
to have the courage, confidence,
self-belief and self-determination
to go out there and work it out
until you find the opportunities you want in life.
My full-time hustle is teaching children
Teaching novice teachers is my part-time hustle
I have to keep going.
Facing my students
praying for my students
preparing my students
to go out there
with courage, confidence,
self belief and self-determination
to find the opportunities
they want in life.
I have to hustle for them
not just for me
because by the time they graduate high school
and by the time they get their teaching credentials
someone will have said
they can’t do it, won’t have it, shouldn’t dream it
and someone will try to wash the color from their hearts
and build steel cages around their freedom
and distract their perseverance
until they can’t even utter a syllable of success.
But I will push the hustle into them
like it was pushed into me
and I will thank them for sticking with it
like they thanked me for not giving up on them.
#keepitreal2018