Princesses and Super-Heroines

"We are all made in the image and likeness of God.

God in king. If we are made in His likeness, we, too, are royalty. 

Let's learn to treat each other as such."

- Miss G

    Yesterday was my very first day of teaching my very first official class. It's been a day that I have been waiting for...for, well, as long as I can remember. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. For what seems like forever, I have wanted to teach. I remember teaching my stuffed animals, my younger sisters, my peers and realizing that I must be called to be a teacher. As I started my college career and taking education classes, that realization turned into a dream and now, it's a reality. The margins of all my notebooks in college were covered in random lesson plan ideas and brainstorming for ways to present various types of material. I would think of something and write it down to save it for my eventual classes. All last week, ideas were busting out of every single crevice of my brain and onto the paper. However, the idea I had for my very first class came from a conference that I attended a while back and a Christian singer-songwriter. I'd like to share that with you now. 

     The name of the song is "Hello, My Name Is...." written by Matthew West (listen below). I had heard the song many, many times but it simply was another good song on KLOVE. That was until I found myself at the Women of Faith Conference during which Matthew West was performing. He presented to us the inspiration behind his latest album: other people's stories. And behind the story of this particular song is a young man Jordan who used to introduce himself as "Hello, my name is Jordan and I'm a drug addict." The story was about Jordan's addiction to painkiller drugs after a brutal accident on the field. After some therapy and rehab, however, Jordan can now proudly introduce himself in this way, "Hello, my name is Jordan and I am a Child of the Risen King." This concept got me truly thinking and honestly, I spent the next hour jotting down an activity for my class rather than listening to the next speaker. Here's what I came up with:

      The class I teach is titled, Catholic Social Teaching. For those of you who know me, you know that CST is one of my biggest passions for many reasons but mostly because it provides me with an outlet to be a very loud and proud, Catholic, woman. CST is often referred to the Church's Best Kept Secret. There's no question about it that many Catholics in today's day and age do not know about it. However, our present Pope is doing a awful lot to promote it. The first thing that everyone needs to know about CST is that it begins and ends with Human Dignity. Human Dignity is not something we are all often mindful of. Human Dignity is expressed in the way we smile or don't smile at people we pass by, the way we drive, the way we treat those by which we are surrounded, those who would not necessarily give attention to, etc. Labels are things that often inhibit us from expressing human dignity because instead of referring to someone by their name, we refer to them by their negative attributes. In the example of Jordan: he was referred to as the Drug Addict, not Jordan. 

     And so, I encouraged the students to write down their names on some "Hello, my name is..." stickers. Then I asked them to write a negative attribute that they associate with or a sin that they often battle with. I suggested words like regret, lack of self-esteem, quiet, etc. We listened to the song and then I asked if anyone wanted to share their labels. Afterward, I played the video for them. In the story, there's a theme of redemption. At the end, Jordan says, "I no longer say, 'I am a drug addict' but rather, 'Hello, my name is Jordan and a child of the one true King." I had the girls then write positive labels for each other. Labels that would recognize their human dignity. Then again, I asked for anyone to share. One student said, "I wrote down sheepish for my negative. And she wrote 'leader of the herd.'" It was so perfect. 

     I later went on to explain that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. God is the King...He is royalty. Therefore we are made in the image and likeness of royalty, thus, making us all princes and princesses. They all really liked that concept. But the curve ball was this: WE ARE ALL...so why are there instances when we don't treat others like the princes and princesses we are? If we believe we are princesses and request to be treated as princesses, why can we not fulfill the same requests of our brothers and sisters, our fellow princes and princesses? It was a thought provoking conversation and we left the classroom thinking about being princesses and treating others just the same. 

      My next day's lesson began with a creative writing prompt. The prompt read: create a super-heroine and describe her character. Explain how she promotes human dignity and why that is a super power. Of course, I asked a few students to share. After that I professed that each of us could easily be that super-heroine. We each have the super-powers to promote human dignity. Even if we don't wear a crown or a cape, we are still princesses and super-heroines. 

      While it may sound pretty cheesy to teach this to 17 and 18 year old girls, the truth of the matter is this: as kids we pretended to be princesses and super-heroines. We really believed that we could do that. So...why can't we do it anymore? Why can't we treat each other like the royalty that we are? We can't we start saving the world little by little to promote human dignity? I don't see why not...We need to go back to the beliefs we had as children, as little girls. Children have the deepest belief of God and goodness...we need to go back to that. 

     And so...think about your labels. Transform them into prince or princess, super-hero or heroine. Realize that all of those surrounding you are royalty, made in the image and likeness of God, the King. Treat each other like royalty, with dignity, with truth and with justice. Simple be kind and love.