Every year I dig up my front and back yard and put in new plants to brighten up our outdoor space. I get great, fortified and enriched soil. I buy the best blooms from a reputable nursery and spend an entire day planting them. I spend subsequent days minding them and defending them from cats and raccoons. I do all of that and a week later they are over run by...WEEDS!!
These varmints occupy every available space in the garden like Wall Street protesters and have the nerve to grow taller and more robust than the plants that I INTENTIONALLY planted!! To be even more obnoxious, they are resilient. I can strip every leaf off but unless I put them out by the root, they will be back the next week. Meanwhile if I pluck the wrong leaf off of one of my my pansies, they wither and dies. These weeds have the nerve to use up all the resources and attention that was meant for my designated plants! Next year, I'm planting WEEDS!!!
That reminds me of teaching. Crazy right? But here is the parallel: I am constantly trying to target certain groups on campus and help with their development. Inevitably, they don't see the value and don't get what me and my colleagues are doing for them. Here is the interesting things; sometimes groups and people who were NOT our intended focus benefit from what we are doing and are truly appreciative. I guess the moral of the story is to do good work and you will affect SOMEONE'S life. Even if they aren't your target. Even if they are weeds.
These are my thoughts...what are yours?
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