A Good Kind of Overwhelmed...

     Yesterday I received an email from the Events Specialist for the University of Michigan Transplant Center.  She had previously asked me to be the guest speaker at the upcoming Vita Redita, a black tie event to raise funds for the transplant center.  She had also asked to share my transplant anniversary Facebook post to the transplant center's official Facebook page.  Here is what her email said:

"Your transplant anniversary post was seen by more than 7,000 people through our Facebook and was shared 339 times! That’s the biggest response we’ve had to a post since I’ve been here."

     This information is overwhelming.  I am (and always will be) in awe of how many people are being impacted by my journey, and how supportive people are toward a person they've never met.  I feel like this, along with returning to teaching, is what I'm meant to be doing-- creating a ripple by telling my story, one that will eventually improve and save the lives of others.

     (If you would like more information on the Vita Redita, you can go here, and this Facebook page (where my post was shared) has updated information on all of the Michigan Transplant Center events.)

     The other little bit of overwhelming information I received yesterday was a large binder that I picked up from the middle school I'll be teaching at.  It contains the entire 7th grade English curriculum.  Though its heft is intimidating, something on the first page made me feel like it's a perfect fit:  the overarching theme of the year is "Tolerance, Change, and Integrity."  I like to think that my transplant journey has given me a unique perspective on at least two thirds of those concepts.