The Match | Tension
Word: Tension
Sentence:
Tension is what we carry when two truths exist and neither lets go.
Passage:
This week held both joy and heartbreak.
I ran into a former student who told me he wants to become a principal. In the middle of the conversation, he turned to someone else and said I was the reason he became a teacher. I felt it immediately. Pride. Gratitude. The kind of moment you don’t forget.
His story is one of sacrifice. His family came to this country in search of something better. He became the first in his family to finish school and is now building a life that will change the trajectory of generations after him.
We don’t always get to see the seeds we plant become something years later. When we do, it feels almost sacred.
Not long after that moment, I got a message about another student. He had been arrested for shooting and killing a police officer at a local hospital.
He came to us as a youth in care, moving between foster homes, living in unstable conditions. When he first arrived, he was just a kid trying to find his place. Over time, he struggled to find connection in the right places. The risks grew. He left school before graduating and was pulled into a cycle that became harder and harder to escape.
And just like that, I was holding both stories at once.
One where everything we hope for begins to take shape.
Another where, despite everything we tried, it didn’t.
To know you can help change the direction of a life
and also know you cannot control all the forces shaping it.
To feel pride and heartbreak in the same breath.
Both of these young men are part of why I chose this path.
To give kids a chance at something different.
And still, we keep going.
Your Turn:
How do you stay grounded when the outcomes of your work pull you in opposite directions?
If The Match has meant something to you, pass it on to someone else.
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7 Comments
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7 Comments
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on May 1, 2026 at 1:25 pm
Tension indeed! two truths, two people. We give love and care and yet one succeeds and the other doesn’t. How many of us carry our own tensions? The bright, funny, creative young man now lost in a haze of heroin and the ‘uneducable 1st grader who will be Valedictorian, accepted by 2 major universities with several merit scholarships and a burning passion for Linguistics. And we ask ourselves at what point did we miss the moment when a word, a gesture, a moment in time changed their trajectories. Tensions that leave Resonances.
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on May 7, 2026 at 8:36 pm
This is real.
Those are the tensions that stay with us. The ones that don’t have clean answers. Two students. Two paths. And we carry both.
I’ve wrestled with that same question—when did it shift, and could we have done something different?
What I keep coming back to is this: we show up, we care, we stay consistent. And even when the outcomes are different, that care still matters. It always does.
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on May 5, 2026 at 9:40 am
I visit a Prek and/or kindergarten classroom for 15 – 30 minutes to remind why the “tension” is important and okay- its good “tension” -my focus is serving children no matter what the outside noise (anything that does not out children first) brings!
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I appreciate this perspective.
Leaders carry a lot of tension, but not all tension is bad. The kind rooted in serving kids is the kind that keeps us aligned, even when everything else pulls at us.
Those classroom moments help us remember what’s worth holding onto.
-
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on May 16, 2026 at 4:38 pm
Know your purpose, Everyday is a new day.
Reset and recharge ,show up as your best self
Calm and grounded
Start your day off with a amazing smile in the mirror at yourself first,
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Let’s continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.” -
Start your day off with a amazing smile in the mirror at yourself first,
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Let’s continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.” -
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.”
Tension indeed! two truths, two people. We give love and care and yet one succeeds and the other doesn’t. How many of us carry our own tensions? The bright, funny, creative young man now lost in a haze of heroin and the ‘uneducable 1st grader who will be Valedictorian, accepted by 2 major universities with several merit scholarships and a burning passion for Linguistics. And we ask ourselves at what point did we miss the moment when a word, a gesture, a moment in time changed their trajectories. Tensions that leave Resonances.
This is real.
Those are the tensions that stay with us. The ones that don’t have clean answers. Two students. Two paths. And we carry both.
I’ve wrestled with that same question—when did it shift, and could we have done something different?
What I keep coming back to is this: we show up, we care, we stay consistent. And even when the outcomes are different, that care still matters. It always does.
I visit a Prek and/or kindergarten classroom for 15 – 30 minutes to remind why the “tension” is important and okay- its good “tension” -my focus is serving children no matter what the outside noise (anything that does not out children first) brings!
I appreciate this perspective.
Leaders carry a lot of tension, but not all tension is bad. The kind rooted in serving kids is the kind that keeps us aligned, even when everything else pulls at us.
Those classroom moments help us remember what’s worth holding onto.
Know your purpose, Everyday is a new day.
Reset and recharge ,show up as your best self
Calm and grounded
Start your day off with a amazing smile in the mirror at yourself first,
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Let’s continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.”
Start your day off with a amazing smile in the mirror at yourself first,
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Let’s continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.”
”Every day brings a fresh opportunity to align with our purpose, reset, and show up as our best selves. Cultivating a calm, grounded mindset starts from within—taking a moment for positive self-reflection each morning sets the tone for a successful day. Continue to support one another with empathy through all circumstances, remembering to take the necessary time to pause, regain balance, and lead with intention.”