Expect the Unexpected

    Okay, remember when I told you that I had six sign-ups and I got really excited? And to be honest, I was expecting about 10 people to come for the first meeting. Well, it turns out that I’m terrible at predictions. Like, worse than Trelawney from Harry Potter.

    The morning of the first meeting, the slides were completed, the games were organized, the number of sign-ups had amazingly increased to 17, the sheets were in my bag, I could breathe.

    After school, I headed over to Ms. Nguyen’s room with butterflies in my stomach and a pep in my step from the excitement of finally meeting everyone. But as my best friend and I rounded the corner, I saw Ms. Nguyen locking up her classroom, ready to head out. My pep waivered.

    "Oh, hi Julianne!" she said as she saw us, "Something's come up and I can't stay today. I've asked Ms. Marcella to watch you guys in the library, is that okay?"

    And that was only the beginning.

    We entered the library to see about 50 kids sitting at the tables in the middle!

    Turns out, some of them were waiting to help in the library. I didn't know exactly how many were there for ASL, but my heart was no longer in my throat. 

    The librarians soon realized that the library wasn't going to work, regardless of whether or not we were learning a silent language. 

    So everyone was redirected for the second time in eight minutes to the student lounge. When everyone had settled and I ran out of sheets, I realized just how many people had come—a whopping 33 students and even one teacher! 

    Thankfully, my English teacher decided to check in on how the club was going. She printed out an extra 10 sheets, set up a projector, and even took a few photos!

    But I barely had time to thank her. I was too busy thinking, what am I going to do with 34 people—I had planned for up to 20! My icebreaker isn't going to work, but I really want everyone to get to know each other. Time to fly by the seat of my pants!

    

    So with every ounce of courage, I asked people to create groups of six and introduce themselves, with their name and an interesting personal fact. The idea is that they would create that group with their friends. Then, the magic happens. 

    "Okay," I yell above the chatter, "Now, you're going to make a new group of six with anybody that is not in your current group, and introduce yourselves with your name and the same interesting fact!" *Cue the groans and a few expletives* ;)

    After that, the atmosphere in the room felt a little lighter and their eyes looked a little kinder when I asked them to finish up and turn to the screen.

    The lesson went smoothly, and they really enjoyed practicing in their newfound groups. We concluded with an always-successful Kahoot!

    I remember with absolute clarity when someone came to me after and asked me, "What are we learning next week?" People actually wanted to come back!

    I had spent so much time preparing for what I thought would happen, it never occurred to me that my expectations could be so far off. Don't get me wrong, a good plan can go a long way to making something a success. But when things don't go as you expected, don't be scared to throw your plans out the window and fly by the seat of your pants—it just might end up working out for the better.