It's My Life

Zane Licite

Contributor

For four years I was working at a different school in Riga as a teacher. Many things are possible in a big city. You can reach many cultural events and activities because you’re close to everything. We did incredible things together. But I started to think more about what I wanted, and I realized two things were missing for me.

I like to be creative, to invent and build something I’m really excited about. I didn’t feel like I had time to do that when there was always so much going on around me. 

And second, it was still like a job to me. When it was done, I left and closed the door. Instead, I wanted to live in it. Maybe it’s not always a good thing. People say that you should learn to separate your job from your life. But I feel that it is my life.

These two needs came together and I found myself here. This school gives me an answer to the things that I was looking for. If you are in the country, even far away from everything that’s easy to reach within a big city, you can still be active. I can use my creativity even more. And there are many people in need. This place is really in the deep country and these people don’t get the same privileges that exist in a city. There’s nothing around. Nothing happens. But there is a lot of creative thinking going on. This place is very active and I feel that the life is teeming all around us. Every day is different. I’m in a community where people get to see the real me. I can be a more honest version of myself. It’s a good place to grow. 

There was a time after I got here that I learned that I enjoyed the kitchen work and helping cook. I didn’t know that before. Recently my big discovery is that I like mathematics. Years ago I thought that I hated it. Discoveries happen all the time. I discover myself. And I discover the students. I shouldn’t go to anyone with my own ideas of them, but go to discover them in their own time.

Last year I wanted to discover the best way to run the lessons. Every time I tried something that worked, it wasn’t because I read it somewhere or someone told me to do it. It worked because I saw the needs of the students. Everyone is capable of that if you just observe. You can do much more with less effort and get better results. That allows me to use my energy and effort in other places. I really enjoy when the kids get ideas and get excited about something. I like be the role of a helper. Just to help them put their ideas together in a practical way, you will see that it works. It works because of their excitement. 

This is my fourth year at Kristiana Davida School. At the end of every summer when the new school year is coming, I have strictly told myself that I will always agree again with every part of this life. I go through all the people and say yes. Am I going to live with that person again for a year? It has to be a yes for everything. I say yes to the children coming here. So that way, I stay with an open heart. That way it’s not like work. It’s my life. And the children’s lives too. 

I know that if I give my strength in life, even if I don’t see fruits of it right now, it will bring fruits later. I see this way is life-changing. Especially for children who have had many troubles before. And they need someone who’s ready to be here for them. I enjoy the team. We don’t always agree, but we love what we do and we believe that it works and it’s worth doing. 

When I first decided to come here and take that step, none of my friends told me it was a good idea. None. In this decision I was really alone. But inside me I knew that it was the right thing to do. I had to try it. Now when I meet them or when they come here they see why I do it. They understand and even want their kids to go to school here. 

Our school doesn’t pay teachers a salary. Instead we have a community fund. We often think that if we have this or that, then we’ll be happy. We think that if we have just a little more money, we’ll be happier. But when people really come here and I see what I do they understand that it’s worth doing for something other than money.

What people don’t really get unless they experience it, is what it means to live together. It’s not just living together. It’s something very alive. It’s relationships. It’s becoming a human. It’s discovering yourself and never being afraid of adversity. That is just something that we have to learn from. If you have a small problem in math, that you train yourself to be patient and see that you can get through that. I wish that they can do the same with the rest of their lives. If there is a challenge in front of you, work at it. Be patient.

To accept others means that you first have to accept yourself as you are. To know yourself. To find yourself. If everyone would live together, not just with those who are like us, but with those different from us who we probably wouldn’t normally choose, that would solve a lot of the problems in the world. And the same with nature. Many problems that we have in nature we have only because we don’t have a relationship with it. It’s important that our hearts grow bigger than our heads. 

I love that we try to be as close as possible to all the people here. It’s not just a job that I have to do. It’s even more. It’s my life.