Today, I am living in a beautiful house of my own. It is about three times the size of the apartment I inhabited previously. I have space to begin spreading out, organizing, and most importantly creating.
I am now teaching at a wonderful school where the art and music are not practiced in hiding behind closed doors. The students enjoy PS Arts classes for art and music. They also participate in drama and dance class. The school has an amazing garden where children participate in planting, growing, harvesting, and eating fresh, healthy foods. My principal comes into my classroom and smiles at our projects instead of questioning what page in the teacher's addition gave me permission to create with my kindergarten students.
I realized that I owe much of this to my former principal. Had he not pushed me so hard, I would not have left my discomfort zone. I would have stayed at my old school feeling unhappy, unappreciated, exhausted, and ill. He created a situation that forced me to leave, thus opening a door to such wonderful possibilities.
One of the many terrific things about my new school is our dedicated and tireless PTA. Last weekend our school participated in the Mar Vista Garden Showcase. People from the surrounding areas visited our school garden, bought 'seed bombs', plants, refreshments, and hand-made recycled seed paper butterflies.
I'm very proud of these butterflies that I created with my students and several other PTA volunteers. It combined my love of paper with my green consciousness and my new-found love of gardening.
