Skyfoos.

Yesterday, I was thinking about how we're all (at least) a little bit tired. Like, when I say that, there are exactly none of us who don't feel like they could sleep right now if they had to. But we also have a spark. A little piece of a part of us that would light up if only given some tinder and a reason to burn. So I'm trying to make today about starting fires. It's brighter, it's warmer, it smells like my grandparents' cabin. Those are things we all want.

I sit, staring at the plain white wall. It's been a typical hot and sweaty Texas day, so now I'm sprawled on my bed with wet skin and hair steaming from the shower, my ceiling fan scooping up my moisture and spreading it around the room. My bed and my wall are exactly alike, staring at each other with their clean, white, blandness. No images or frames, no decorative pillows. Just a blank facade in front of me and beneath me, waiting to be marked, begging to remain pure and simple and boring. I've left it that way for a while. There were girlfriends, somewhere back there in the past, in and out of this room like night terrors. Some were loud, marching in and putting up artistic paintings that read like protests to the simple boredom of my life. They were bold, offensive images that made it hard for me to sleep - confronting me, making me feel broken and confused. Some girlfriends put up quieter images with blue-tones, complimenting my attitude but somehow even more bor...

Prompt for a Scholarship Essay: How do you inspire students? My most persistent motivation for teaching is both from and for one detail about life: it can be beautiful and fun. I know that life is challenging and we all experience parts of it that give us grief, but I believe we all can take part in the best parts of life if we so choose. That being said, I inspire my students to believe in beauty. When I was a substitute for a Spanish classroom for a full semester, we took time to compliment the artistry and adventurous spirits of Spanish-speaking nations. When I taught Introduction to Business for a few months in another substituting role, I asked students to share their dream jobs with me, and found a way to invite personal friends in those jobs to come and share about their experience. In a library classroom, teaching Information Literacy, I made students laugh while learning how to write research papers.  If we can all see beauty and fun in our lives, we can live them jo...

Let me start by admitting to this dude's faults, because some may be unaware of why Ron is a contentious character. Ron is not as skilled or intelligent as Hermione, not as driven or brave as Harry, and altogether not as valuable as a warrior or co-conspirator. Between him running out on the Horcrux hunt and treating Hermione awfully in Half-Blood Prince, we have reason to see Ron and the weakest link...but I'm not so sure. Because I'm obsessed, here is a list for other observers about why Ron is absolutely VITAL to the mission: Starting with the obvious, this guy is hilarious. Hermione and Harry and dull socks of ambition and talent. Frankly, they are insufferable without Ron, even if they remain successful. Ron is generous. He's insecure about being poor, but never hesitates to share his time, energy, or family. He gets jealous sometimes, but he wants to be useful and he finds ways to be regularly. If you are not sure that he has found ways to be useful...