Tuesday morning began with an unusual stillness. The board carried no drawings, no colored chalk — only black letters that read: “Mission #17 – Look inward.” Underneath, Ms. Larsen had written: Write down one bad habit you want to change, and one good habit you want to keep.
The class grew quiet. This was no simple task — it wasn’t about giving or doing, but about honesty. Emma frowned at her page for a while before writing, “I interrupt people too much” under bad habit, and “I always finish what I start” under good habit. Jonas chewed his pen and finally scribbled, “Bad habit: I joke when I should listen. Good habit: I stand up for my friends.”
When Ms. Larsen asked if anyone wanted to share, only a few hands went up. “I want to stop arguing with my parents,” said Ida softly. “But I want to keep being patient with my little brother.” The others nodded — some smiled in recognition.
Ms. Larsen didn’t ask them to turn in the papers. “Keep them,” she said. “Look at them again in January. Real change starts when you see yourself clearly — not when someone else tells you to.”
As the bell rang, Jonas folded his note carefully and slid it into his wallet. For the first time in a while, the class left not feeling proud, but thoughtful — the kind of quiet pride that comes from deciding who you want to be.