lucky

This past Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day, which is very popular in America. In my class, we talked about many aspects of St. Patrick’s Day: Ireland, wearing green clothes, pots of gold, etc. We even watched an instructional video and learned some Irish step dancing! We all thought the dancing was difficult, but very fun. Some of them are still practicing and teaching each other!

Of course, any class about St. Patrick’s Day has to talk about shamrocks. We talked about how clovers are considered to be lucky, and then we talked more about what it means to be “lucky,” or “幸运的.” I’ve never been a big fan of the word “lucky,” but as it was St. Patrick’s Day and since luck is a popular Chinese concept, I decided to roll with it. I asked the students, “Are you lucky?” A few responded, “No,” because they were thinking that lucky people were music stars, champion athletes, or billionaires. But I let them think a little deeper. Within a few seconds of silence, the students began to answer differently: “Yes, I am lucky!”

“Why?” I asked them. This time, they didn’t have to stop and think before answering. One girl said, “I’m lucky because I have a happy family.” Another boy responded, “I’m lucky because I can go to school.” Still more answered that they were lucky because they had good teachers, many friends, and enough food. 

We moved into the next part of our clover activity. Taking some green paper, each student cut out their own clover with three big leaves. Then, on each leaf, they wrote one sentence about why they are lucky. As they happily worked on their craft, many students raised their hands and asked for help writing the English words they needed. One boy needed the English translation for the word “limbs,” because he wanted to write, “I’m lucky because I have four limbs.” After they had written on their clover, they all stuck them on a big paper in the shape of a giant clover.

This St. Patrick’s Day, we all thought about just how lucky/blessed we really are. In every life, there are so many things to be thankful for. There are “small” things like beautiful weather, breathable air, laughter with friends, or a piano in the corner. And there are big things too: the people around me, the people far away, the dear places I live, and the One who loves me so much that He keeps blessing me more. I’m lucky indeed!