You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now. -Wayne W. Dyer As I am thoroughly revived through sunshine, food, and relaxation in The Town Where Time Does Not Reside, I've finally found some time to process my feelings and thoughts on my summer spent in the… Continue reading The Joys of Summer Bundled Up in One
Category: Thoughts and Musings
The Gift of a Day, The Promise of Hope
I have a younger brother. He's now 21, but at one point he was 17, and wore hoodies, and snacked on Skittles just like Trayvon Martin. Being an older sibling is a very special role in one's life. I constantly "meddle" in my brother's affairs, wondering who he is dating, what classes he's taking, who… Continue reading The Gift of a Day, The Promise of Hope
Practicing Identity
I think the things we want most in life, the things we think will set us free, are not the things we need. -Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz Sometimes who we are is clouded by distractions. In Blue Like Jazz, Miller states that he would never stop his spiritual journey with God for intellectual reasons but only… Continue reading Practicing Identity
Rejecting the Single Story
A week and a half ago I stood in front of my students and unfolded a story. I narrated to them about the 'single story' people have about students in intensive reading classes. I described my introduction during ETO (district) training and how low the stories in our Edge book curriculum were. I told them… Continue reading Rejecting the Single Story
Why the Threat of Violence is as Strong as Violence Itself
If you google 'how fear works' you will get some links as your first hit, describing fear as a chemical reaction in the brain that starts with a stress stimulus and leads to a racing heart, fast breathing, fight-or-flight responses, and so on and so forth. But anyone who has experienced fear, especially those who… Continue reading Why the Threat of Violence is as Strong as Violence Itself
Connections from Across the Atlantic
There are those weeks that seem that they will last forever. The ones where the work seems to pile up faster than I can get rid of it, and the students seem ready for the extended weekend ahead already. Sometimes it threatens to slump you into the motions of what you do day to day,… Continue reading Connections from Across the Atlantic
“Anonymous Ripped Off Treasure”
"Somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff. Not my poems or dance I gave up in the street, but somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff like a kleptomaniac workin hard & forgettin while stealin. This is mine; this ain't your stuff. Now why don't you put me back & let me hang out… Continue reading “Anonymous Ripped Off Treasure”
Reflections Upon Being Suspended in Time
For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope… Continue reading Reflections Upon Being Suspended in Time
Once Upon a Time in a Treehouse
There's nothing like being trapped in a mini blizzard to get your mind reflecting on all kinds of subject. One such subject that has been on my mind recently started when I moved to Miami. I have gotten used to the question of where I went to school, but I never realized that I was… Continue reading Once Upon a Time in a Treehouse
“When one person is missing, the whole world seems empty”
“My sister will die over and over again for the rest of my life. Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes a part of you, step for step, breath for breath. I will never stop grieving Bailey because I will never stop loving her. That's just how it is. Grief and love are… Continue reading “When one person is missing, the whole world seems empty”
Odelia Younge 