Thursday, August 4, 2011

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in many forms, and in times like these when the world seems to be spiralling faster and faster out of control I think we need it more than ever.  I've been in a bit of a creative rut lately, and definitely in need of some inspiration.  I found it yesterday over sushi with one of my favorite former students.

I had the pleasure of having Jarred in my class for two and a half years, and his classes were always my favorite.  Jarred is a great kid; he is intelligent, thoughtful, creative, compassionate, and understanding.  He sees the world in a different way than most people I know, especially most teenagers.  When you talk to Jarred about the world, he makes statements that make you stop and think.  Even just talking about going off to college, and all the things that are different about where he is headed, Tulane University in New Orleans, are thought-provoking.  Jarred doesn't pretend to understand everything, because he has a passion to learn what he can about all the places he encounters.  He is majoring in International Relations, and has big plans; he may never graduate because he wants to study abroad in a million different places just to be able to explore their cultures.  We talked about school, a little about the future, and a lot about what he learned in high school about life.  But, the best thing about talking to Jarred is that we can carry on a conversation that doesn't revolve around pop culture.  His fresh look on things was exactly what I needed to get it together for the coming year.  The knowledge that you should never stop learning, never stop aiming for something higher, and never give up on your dreams was something I needed to be reminded of.  Thank you, Jarred.  You are a star.  (And your mom is right, you should take some vocal coaching, but for radio and speech, not music!)

6 comments:

  1. I'm calling shenanigans. (:

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  2. What does Sean have to do with anything? ;-)

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  3. You're too nice, Leffel. This post makes me seem like WAY too good of a person.

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  4. Because you are a good person. I expect that Shelby will be the good person I write about next year, so she best behave!

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  5. (;

    And Jarred, Anti-Shelby? Classic.

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