Today was a good day. I need some bright spots once in a while to remind myself to keep giving 100% compassionately.

• I found out a student I taught in NOLA for 2 years is a free man. Now he’s going to solve some complex equations in his spare time, like the nerd I know he is and can be (and I’m going to be sure of that).

• Another student is now in college. Four years ago in my freshman Algebra 1 class, he wrote down on an intro sheet that he wanted to study engineering. He just told me today he’s studying mechanical engineering with his eyes on the prize. I moved to New Orleans and taught math because I thought that  a region fraught with unsafe infrastructure deserved more local engineering talent.

• A third (kid-centric day!) former student solved a multi-step equation correctly via a Twitter convo with her. Never thought she’d actually take me up on the challenge. But I was confident she’d get it right with some effort.

• I made a contact with a Nigerian official to talk more about security impacts of drought and climate-forced migration.

• I got a sunburn in December (if you know me, you know how much I love being tan, so the prospects of that are good).

• And I practiced Spanish any chance I got (without shame or embarrassment — well not too much embarrassment 🙂 ).

In my first day at the UNFCCC (United Nations climate negotiations, more to come on that soon), my highlights surprisingly came from more personal news.

Day 1 success; bring it on, Tuesday.

What things can brighten your day? Click “Reply” or “___ Comments” and scroll down to Reply box to respond.