five years ago I’m a little boy who
changed my life at that time I was a
freshman looking for a part-time job and
I stumbled across the child development
lab and the McFaul Center today I’m one
to lead different teachers and when the
sold mills there on the staff
oh I didn’t know then was just about how
you came into my life like a quiet storm
like a silent rain that’s raged on I
wasn’t used to bathing in the rain just
silently withstanding the pain until you
appeared right before my eyes it was
then the flames began to rise it was
time to be born anew one of my first
days subbing was in the preschool
classroom as I stood back there watching
there was one child in particular this
it out to me he liked to help others and
most importantly he liked to lead Berger
take my hand and lead me around the
classroom and showed me what it was that
I was supposed to be doing we spend the
entire day telling stories but in
life-size forts
they’ve been playing basketball suddenly
it was 4:30 I don’t even know there was
time for me to leave we spent the entire
day just playing and I felt more like
myself than I had in a very long time
when I met Burke I was go through one of
the hardest times on my life my
grandfather had just passed away had
been raised by my mom with the help of
her parents losing him thought losing
both my father and my best friend my
grandfather was the epitome of
perfection in my eyes he was a man of
few words when we were together we would
do anything ranging from these movie
marathons even catching old log even
catching fireflies and an old mason jar
at night
you taught me what it was like to be
myself and enjoy every moment of it I
didn’t know what it was like to live in
a world without him summer began the day
you left all of June the sky wept save
me from the reality of being without you
remembrance of your love I can’t undo
another cheer with me traces engraved on
my soul kisses on my skin fingerprints
upon my heart but during this difficult
time
I said I find myself in a job where I’ll
spend most of my time with toddlers I
know some of you may think your
co-workers act like toddlers but mine
actually are and then they given time
you can look down found yourself covered
in boogers you don’t have a set of hands
way too close in your personal space one
time you’ve had a child projectile poop
all over my classroom walls so this age
group you can always stick the lesson
plans because they learn best through
play and experience sometimes if I self
doing crazy things like making green
mashed potatoes or even using pudding
paint to teach your kids about taste and
texture
adding the of add unique opportunity
every morning to show up to work and
just play play is something that you
don’t think about you just do that’s the
beauty of it
it’s unstructured and unorganized with
it you just let go and be in the moment
it’s the euphoria that you never have to
come down from Berk and all my other
students reminded me of something that
we as adults often forget you don’t have
to take life so seriously you can live
not only that they showed me that
teaching was something that I want to do
for the rest of my life
and there was one day that that became
evidently clear it was Burke’s last day
of preschool before he went out to
elementary school he came up to me and
he said Darius need to have talked he
took me by the hand led me to the
amphitheater set me down like the little
Oldman that he was had his finger point
out like a parentless from their child
and said now this is going to be hard
for the both of us but don’t you cry
okay you’ve got to be strong I’m going
to stay here to take care of my sister
you’re my best friend
it’ll be in my heart always I promise
then he hugged me and he whispered our
motto is that we never say goodbye but
instead see you later
it was in that moment that I realized
just how much I had grown in the past
play is universal and has no boundaries
and it chooses a person to their true
self and with it we can imagine the
impossible it is taught me to most
importantly learn how to incorporate
both imagination and creativity not only
in my life but the life of my kids as
well my purpose in life is to change the
life at least one child the way Burke
has forever changed mine leaving his
fingerprints upon my heart as educators
is our job to mold these children into
the strong unique individuals that they
are destined to be this is a lasting
legacy that I want to leave with my
students because I want them to know
they might pass for life we’ll obviously
are they cute because we had the power
to load them into the strongly convinced
and they are destined to be because in
return they can teach us about love life
play and letting go we can create the
environments where our children not only
find the power to find themselves most
importantly find the power to change the
world thank you [Applause]