Sixteen years ago, I sat in our beginning of the year faculty meeting and our principal introduced a couple of new teachers on our faculty and then asked each of them to introduce themselves. Brenda talked about teaching in the Netherlands and Honduras and I can't really remember what else. But I remember thinking that we had absolutely nothing in common...she sounded adventurous and like she would probably only stick around for a couple of years. And it was true that we were very different. She grew up in California, she was single (though living with a boyfriend), she had lived in a variety of places, and so on. I got pregnant with Ella that year and Brenda got pregnant with her daughter Aelora. Aelora and Ella were born a week apart. And during the year, we became friends. Then the next year she moved to third grade. So we were teammates, along with Liz Irvine. We were the best team I've ever worked with (though three or four years later when Brenda and I were on a team with Polly, that was another stellar team!!). We collaborated and shared work and brainstormed and I learned a great deal from Brenda and Liz. But more than just being teammates, we truly became friends. Brenda came to our house for dinners and Ella and Aelora were in the same class at school. Those girls grew up together until 5th grade when Brenda moved to Japan. Brenda and I still have many differences. We see many political issues differently. Our life experiences and belief systems have differences. But she is a wonderful friend and a wonderful person. She cares about others and tries to make the world a better place. My initial impression was wrong. Or at least not complete. I'm so glad that I didn't allow my initial impression to prevent me from forming a dear friendship that has blessed my life.
Lessons learned: We can be friends with people who are very different from us.
First impressions are often wrong--or at least very incomplete.
