Third Week of January
|
|
Second Week of December
|
|
First Week of December
|
|
Fourth Week of November
|
|
Third Week of November
|
|
Second Week of November
|
|
First Week of November
"My eyes saw you, but damn, did my soul feel you."
-Melody Lee 
|
|
Fourth Week of October
|
"You dance secretly in my heart where no one else can see."
|
Third Week of October
"Find you a partner who respects you as a sea captain respects the ocean. Someone who looks at you with awe and reverence and knows that you are a force of nature."
|
|
Second Week of October
"Girls", said the old man. "are ever-flowing music -- there is no use of complaining about the song. Instead, you need to find the one that makes you want to dance".
-Atticus 
|
|
First Week of October
|
|
Fourth Week of September
|
|
Third Week of September
|
|
|
|
Second Week of September
“No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is opened.”
|
|
First Week of September
"This morning, while filling myself with meat and cider at lunchtime, I felt it was rather monstrous to be so violently alive; to enjoy my life and be satisfied with it, without thinking — and almost feeling — anything any more."- Simone de Beauvoir
|
|
Third Week of August
|
|
Second Week of August
|
Finding the technicolor and amusement in the mundane.
|
First Week of August
|
|
Mood Board: Fourth Week of July
Whether two years or nearly fifty; they were always with you.
|
|
Third Week of July
There he was, standing in the glow of the front porch light.
|
|
Second Week of July
|
|
First Week of July
|
His smile looked like he could make flowers grow. |
Fourth Week of March
|
|
Third Week of March
|
|
Second Week of March
|
|
First Week of March
|
|
Second Week of October
" You have to always be drunk. That's all there is to it, it's the only way...But on what? Wine, poetry, or virtue, as you wish. But be drunk."
|
|
First Week of October
"I'm not sure what I will do, but -- well, I want to go places and see people. I want to live where things happen on a big scale."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald 
|
|
Wisdom of Words
By: Uri Bronfenbrenner
|
Date: September 23rd, 2019
Reflection: This quote currently hangs on multiple walls in my life; my bedroom wall, the bulletin board in my classroom, on the fridge in my school's faculty lounge, and it hangs perpetually on the inside of the wall of my mind. It's a quote that when I read it, I was struck to the core and reminded of the innermost drive of teaching. Teaching is a work of the heart; one that surely delivers content, but the "how" is much more important than the "what". The "how" is answering the question of "how am I going to reach this child today?" or "how can I help this child see their own potential and instill a love in learning in them?". Good teachers deliver the "what" such as, "what do they need to learn in grammar to be a good writer" or "what essential elements need to be learned so as to make him/her strong in math/science/literature?"; however, these "good teachers" only become great when they marry their "what" with the "how". These "good teachers" become "great teachers" when their passion is shared and they are "irrationally crazy" about the well-being and success of their students. Students know when they are loved and seen. And, when students know that they are loved and seen then they will dive into the content that you are presenting. When they feel loved and seen they in turn will feel safe, and students are only able to truly learn once they feel safe. So, for all my educators out there, whether you be a formal educator or are just an "educator in life" via the occupations of parent, spouse, sibling, or friend...go out and be irrationally crazy about someone. That irrationality breeds safety, it encourages freedom, and will lead to success for both the irrational and the one who is irrationally loved. |
Fourth Week of September
|
"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will."
-Max Depree 
|
Words of Wisdom
"Add More Life"
|
Date: September 18th, 2019
Reflection: Life is full and busy for all of us. Calendars, journals, and planners are owned by all, whether they be digital or physical. Work, chores and tasks, events, and those little moments in-between are documented and placed in their proper time-slots. And, it can still feel like there is not enough time. I often felt like this until I sat down and reflected on my use of time. I have a lot going on in my little life. Being a committed teacher (approximately 6o hour weeks), full time graduate student, 6 day-a-week gym goer, and average adult who has to cook, clean, and attend to menial tasks that create the act of living. My life is full. So full, that at times I felt the stress to be overwhelming and swallowing. That is, until I really sat down with my calendar and reflected on my use of time. I admitted that I was making the most of my time, but I wasn't making the most of those "in-between" times. It was in those "in-between" times that I found myself purposelessly scrolling Instagram and Facebook. It was in those times that I wasn't focusing on my goals, but instead was living in an absent-minded zombie state. It was in those times that I was not living in the fullness of life. I can't add time to my day. But I can make the most of every second I have. To not live as a digital zombie, but instead use that time to flex my creative muscles, to notice the beauty around me, to reflect and to make connections, and to be truly alive. |
Third Week of September
|
|
Second Week of September
|
"Every man is self-made; but only the successful admit it."
-Les Brown 
|
First Week of September
I want a trouble-maker for a lover, blood spiller, blood drinker, a heart of flame, who quarrels with the sky and fights with fate, who burns like fire on the rushing sea.
— Rumi 
|
|
|
|
Last Week of August
|
|
Third Week of August
Love her, but leave her wild
-Atticus 
|
Her hair was long,
Her foot was light, And her eyes were wild. -John Keats 
|
First Week of August
|
“The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it. Basically, because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them.”
|
Wisdom of Words
"Mereces un Amor": By Frida Kahlo
“You deserve a lover who wants you disheveled, with everything and all the reasons that wake you up in a haste and the demons that won’t let you sleep.
|
Date: July 29th
Frida, is a woman who is equally known for her unibrow aesthetic and her surrealist paintings; however, Frida was also a prolific writer. Her freestyle poem, "Mereces un Amor" (You Deserve a Lover)", captures Frida's admiration for romance and unconditional love. Frida, in her own life, was a lover. She was a woman who loved deeply, passionately, and with a depth that was an illogical obsession as well as perfect devotion. "Mereces un Amor" is a poem I love. A poem that functions as a mantra and standard. A poem that calls for the unconditional love of walking "hand and hand" with the "disheveled" "lover". 
|
Final Week of July
"I hope to arrive to my death,
|
|
Second Week of July
"Fear tricks us into living a boring life."
|
"She is both,
|
Wisdom of Words
A Letter to High School Students: By Kurt Vonnegut
"Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
|
Date: July 6, 2019
You may remember his name from your high school english class. It was that book that was exciting to reach your hands at first glance because it had more doodles than any other assigned novel. That apocalyptic doodle-novel was Slaughter House Five, and the hand behind it was Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut has a cult-following. Avid adorers and passionate haters. I tend to fall on the hater-side, but I can ashamedly say that I haven't given a second date. However, we've shared quick eye-contact and bonding glances over his quick prose and quotes that I encounter on the geekier side of the internet. This letter, an advisorial piece to high schoolers, is an example of that casual love affair. In this letter, his sole advice is for everyone to "practice any art". The form of art does not natter to Vonnegut; it could be poetry, dance, fashion, web-design...Vonnegut doesn't care what you do. He merely wants you to do it. To lose yourself in an art form "no matter how well or badly". He believes the the mere practice in the arts will "make your soul grow" and through the practice "you will experience becoming". Vonnegut is right. Art is what frees us. It is the reflector and bringer of life. It is through dance, drawing, poetry, fashion, home-decorating, and cooking that beauty is embraced in the mundanity of life. Art gives life meaning; it gives us purpose. Art is equal parts catharsis and reminder. Art helps us to learn "a lot more about what is going on inside you". Therefore, I would argue that art is essential to life....well, essential to a fulfilling and blissful life. So, heed Vonnegut's prophetic announcement to "Start now!". Look for the beauty in the rush of daily life. Find that hobby that helps you learn more about yourself as well as bring light, beauty, and hope to the rest of the world. Try that new recipe, buy those loud-patterned pants, redecorate your living spaces, write a nonsense poem, draw a picture of something across the room...just start, today. 
“Cigarettes are a classy way to commit suicide.”
Vonnegut's memorable signature. Something to aspire. It's also an example of Vonnegut's embrace of art in all forms...including how you sign your checks.
|
First Week of July
"Be a child again. Flirt. Giggle. Dip your cookies in your milk. Take a nap. Say you’re sorry if you hurt someone. Chase a butterfly. Be a child again."
-Max Lucado 
|
“Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
-Henry Miller 
"Why was she dancing?
|
4th Week of June
|
"Writing is breathing life into forgotten memories."
|
Current Page Turner: East of Eden
"I always found in myself a dread of west and a love of east. " (Steinbeck, 1). |
A Second ReadingI really do not remember why I picked up East of Eden in the summer of 2016. I never read Steinbeck in high school or college (and I am an English major!). I am convinced that I actually didn't select East of Eden, but instead it found me and embedded its message in the field of my heart.
I remember reading in the heat of summer and experiencing the prose that captured the complexity that is humanity. It is a story of family. It is a story of ancestry and legacy. It is a store of sin and redemption. It is humanity's story. Since completing the novel, I have convinced several people that I love to indulge in the novel. Passing the book from hands to hands has been rewarding as they too fall in love with Steinbeck's love letter to humanity. The book has seen many hands and touched many hearts, but I again embark on getting lost in its pages. I've started my favorite novel again and I hope to share its gem-laden pages with you via my segmented reflections. |
Chapters 1-7
Chapter 1: A love letter to the Salinas Valley. Steinbeck, himself, lived here for a part of his life and it is evident in the beautiful way he captures the valley's spirit.
Chapter 2: Steinbeck introduces us to the dream boat of a man, Samual Hamilton. He's blue-eyed, philosophical, joyful, and a "man of love" (Steinbeck, 9).
Chapter 3: We meet the Trask family, the family that we will follow for the entire duration of the novel. Cyrus is an army man who takes two wives and bears two children, Adam and Charles. They are dysfunctional family that longs for the love of an unreciprocating family member. In their house lives coldness, violence, and a distorted perception of love. Our chapter is about love, but ends with one brother wielding a hatchet on the other. Chapter three is when things get saucy and complicated.
Chapter 4: A short chapter which chronicles Adam's enlistment into the Army and a letter that captures Charles' haunting loneliness and shame.
Chapter 5: We learn of the fruit of Samuel Hamilton's loins. They are good stock, but my favorite is Tom. He is described as being "born in fury and he lived in lightning" (Steinbeck, 40). He is a bright character who is a "nice mixture of savagery and gentleness" (Steinbeck, 40). I like Tom; I am Tom.
Chapter 6: Charles is "marked on the forehead" and it grows darker has the years pass and his loneliness increases. Adam is running from his own loneliness by avoiding home. The theme of loneliness is rampant in this chapter, as the word appears a total of ten times. That's important. Authors have wide vocabularies; he's repeating that word purposefully...to haunt us with our own loneliness.
Chapter 7: Cyrus Task is dead. He's remembered as a war hero (lied about his own reputation) and left behind a large sum of money. Adam returns home. The two make small talk and then get into a heated debate concerning jealousy, love, and faith. The end of the chapter leaves your head spinning as you ponder the nature of love and relationship.
Reflection: This time around with East of Eden in my hands has been a deeper and more perplexing dance. I remember hating Charles in my first reading due to his bipolar tendencies, his smirkingly violence nature, and his obsession with his loving gift of a pocketknife. I remember detesting him because he was representative of Cain; the biblical man who killed good ole faithful Abel. But now, I see Charles. I see Charles as the man whose first desire is an emotional and loving connection. Is he crazy? Absolutely? Should we trust him? Not at all. But can we understand Charles's ache to be seen and loved by his father and brother. Adam on the other hand...he's a passive man who hides. He hides from his own emotion, he hides from his own dreams, and he hides from connection. It is his hiding that disturbs me. Charles lives in furious searching, while Adam "hides between the roots on the far side of the tree" that sits on the Task farm.
I'm interested to see how my feelings toward these two characters adapts as I press forward. I am also interested to see how I handle the infamous Cathy this time around. I remember detesting her, and I cannot imagine that changing. But who knows, Steinbeck has a poetic way of capturing the good and evil in all of his characters which causes the reader to question their own humanity.
3rd Week of June
"She’s applying her lipstick; I’ve always believed that the universe invented the color red solely for Latinas."
-Junot Diaz, This is How You Lose Her 
|
|
2nd Week of June
"…she imagined a brightness that could be carried in her arms. Distributed, if need be, into places dark as the bottom of a well."
Toni Morrison, Jazz |
|
Wisdom of Words
"My mission in life is not to merely survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."
|
Date: June 8, 2019
Wisest of words proclaimed from the dopest of women; Maya Angelou. This compound sentence captures the complexity of all that I want in life. Living is easy to accomplish in an idle manner; however, idle survival is not what I desire. I desire for each moment to be lived in a calm passion that drinks deeply of each moment. I desire to be a lover to all people; a compassionate woman who emanates and infuses love. I desire to live in joy; to find humor and glee in the seemingly mundane moments of the day. I desire to bring beauty and swagger to the blandness of comfort; to express myself in my dress, my posture, my confidence, and the musical swing of my hips. I desire to thrive. |