The tweet.
Everyone in the 2018-2019 AP Lang class quivers at just the thought of it.
We were sitting in H406 on the first day of school, a humid day in early September. My palms were sweating as I looked on at the teacher in front of me, excited for the year ahead but weary about the way her arms crossed across her chest. Eyebrows furrowed, she looked upon the class, eyes scanning over each of our faces one at a time.
See, there was this tweet:
And... none of us replied.
What a way to make a first impression, right?
Anyway, I sat there, practically shaking as Ms.McMahon interrogated us.
"Why didn't you respond?"
I looked down to my desk, avoiding eye contact and feeling the heavy weight of shame and embarrassment settling on my shoulders. I tried to fabricate an excuse, but the truth was I had none. No teacher I'd ever had before requested an answer on twitter, and I assumed this was too a rhetorical question, but why?
The brave thing to do would have been to take a risk and respond. Looking back, I would reply in two seconds given the knowledge I have since acquired. However, I am grateful for the 'tweet debacle'. In AP Lang I learned to take calculated risks to become a better writer and person, and getting hit hard with the effects of not taking a risk solidified the reasons why it is so important to take those risks. It reversed the process of cause and effect by first showing us what NOT to do, and the consequences of doing the safe, and most often times, wrong thing.
It had the added bonus of making all of us terrified of Ms.McMahon on day one.
However, time has passed, and some most of that fear has worn off.
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