I remember wanting to become an Apple Distinguished Educator (#ADE) so badly. I'd been working as a Tech Coach for a few years and dabbled in presenting during in-service days and at small ed-tech conferences (Vietnam Tech Conference circa 2016-2018), but I thought becoming an ADE would be a good way to develop additional skills and confidence. Moved to Guangzhou in 2019 and was PUMPED to apply. Then, of course, COVID was a thing. Fast forward another few years and after yet another big move, I decided to take the leap. Here's a compilation of the work I'd been doing over the previous year or so in an ADE video application.
Aaaaannnnd here's the rejection email I got for my application in the spring. Whomp, whomp!
But here's the thing about learning:
It's messy and failure is sometimes part of it
Be proud of yourself and take risks
Experiences like this help us grow
This doesn't matter as much as my daily work does
The other surprising thing that happened was that this failure became an opportunity to connect with others who were having a shared experience and it normalized going public with these stories of failure, being vulnerable, being human.
I was just asked today if I was planning to apply again next time the application window opens... I decided it was time to at least be open to it.