Tuesday, January 25, 2011

To me, it seems that even though high school feels like another lifetime, it was not so long ago that I was roaming the halls of my high school looking for trouble. When I think back to my high school experience, I just remember wanting to be in college and thinking: these days cannot possibly be the best days of my life, if they are, I am jumping off a bridge. Thankfully I went to college and discovered a world outside of my small rural community.

I went to a smaller high school, that is to say I knew everyone in my graduating class of 150. On the surface, I don't think anyone could have known how unhappy I was. I fit in with the 'popular' crowd, I was on the high schools prestigious dance team, and I was strong academically. However, I remember feeling very different and alone majority of the time. I made it through high school because of my family, my true friends and my passion for life. However, it is not easy to see who or what has your best interest in high school. I worry that high school students vision of their life only extends to the end of their senior year and that troubles me. But really, it only gets better and I hope to show students that.

To me, the high school social life is an overhyped, oversexed, and over glorified. I hope to guide students away from all the superficial nonsense and encourage the students to peer into themselves to find the strength that they need. Mostly, I worry about classroom management and the harassment of students. I hope I am wrong, but I think high school is just going to get harder for students, emotionally and academically. I am very excited to be there with and for my students. I am excited that I get to inspire students and give them the opportunity to explore another outlet of creativity. I hope to learn more about my craft and the students I will work with daily.

This is the final part of a 3 piece series that I did. The first painting was done in 2001, the second in 2003, and this final painting was completed in 2009.  All three of the paintings are of the same subject, but are represented differently by different colors, races, etc. My parents keep the originals in their house and enjoy looking at a collection to see my growth over the years.