While in London, I had the opportunity to visit a late-night glass exhibit at Kew Gardens. The botanical gardens were lit up after hours and featured work from Dale Chihuly. The mix of art and nature was breathtaking. There was something to see around every corner. In the greenhouses, I felt like I was on a scavenger hunt. Some sculptures were right out in the open, others were hidden among the plants, and many were hanging from the ceilings.
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I believe learning is one of the simple pleasures in life. It is one of the perks of teaching—the more I teach, the more I learn. Sometimes this is because I have to learn more content in the hopes that my students glean at least a small percentage of the wealth of information I give them. More often than not, however, I learn more from looking at the world through the lens of a teacher.
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Everyone always talks about how he or she has learned a subject in school and then never used it again. Well, I’ve always been passionate about my education. From the moment I started school, I loved the idea of learning and working hard to succeed in my academics.
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It’s hard to dismiss the mastery of designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, but for many years following his death in 1933, it seemed as if the world at large might miss out on some of his most personal works. The contents of his 84-room Long Island estate, Laurelton Hall, were auctioned off in 1946 to pay family debts. In 1957, fire gutted what was left. Morse Museum founders Jeanette and Hugh McKean purchased and restored as much as they could and brought it to Winter Park, Florida.
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As a child of the ’80s and ’90s, I never knew a world without video games. I remember getting the original Nintendo with Super Mario Bros., Duck Hunt, The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 2 for Christmas when I was 4 or 5 years old. I am part of the generation that has seen basically every major gaming enhancement from its inception up through today.
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The first musical I remember seeing was Phantom of the Opera when I was eight-years-old. Although I was a tad frightened by the Phantom, and I didn’t quite understand the story-line, the musical still warmed my heart with its poetic lyrics and the angelic melodies. I was mesmerized by how this form of entertainment swept me away from reality and into this tragic love-story. My love for theater didn’t stop with simply reveling in this magic world of the arts, but rather motivated me to be part of it. I took acting classes, voice lessons, and auditioned for several roles I was less than qualified for. Despite rarely receiving the lead role or even being cast in a production, my love for theater has only continued to grow because theater isn’t just about expressing myself as a bird or a tree but, instead, connecting with the message that is presented.
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