A relatively quiet day.

Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.

Robert Louis Stevenson said that. I concur. It is during the quiet days that we regain our pacing. If life was in a constant whirlwind, as my life sometimes is, it would be difficult to regain the balance needed to be a successful individual. I find that I am blessed with the occasional quiet day, and this was indeed one of those. I needed it.

The students were awesome today. It was individual project day, and so I had a few of them out of the classroom doing photo shoots. I was missing four of my advanced students because they were out on a field trip this afternoon with the Marcus HS Art Club. I missed them, but I was glad they got the chance to go out and visit the museums. I have a field trip coming up soon, and I am looking forward to a day out doing some photography with the students.

I am taking the students three places on our field trip. I am going to take them over to see the new Career Center East, then on to visit the campus of UNT, and on to do a photography scavenger hunt to finish out our day. I give the students a list of subjects that they are required to shoot, then we come back and review their field photography. There is a prize for the first place winner. (Last year it was a Best Buy gift card, and it was very popular with the guy who won it.) I always have a great time when I take the kids out for a field experience. I am looking forward to it.

We have had such a peaceful, quiet evening at home tonight. We were both very tired because we have been working hard lately. The interviews for our position are about to wrap up, and it is going to be great to see who we will add to the DJCC staff in our place in the Media Arts department. It is going to soon be time to pack all of our personal belongings and move to the new center. I can't believe how quickly the time has arrived. This school year flew past.

My seniors are all beginning to look ahead to graduation and beyond, and my junior students are coming to the point where they are realizing they are about to become seniors. I have a rather large group of seniors this year, but fortunately, the department is healthy with large numbers of underclassmen that I will retain in the program as well. I am very blessed to have many who stay with me multiple semesters. I have benefitted from their leadership and their ability to provide their classmates with some important qualities. As they leave and go on with their lives, I will miss each and every one of them. They all bring something very special to our class, and even if they don't go into the field of design, they have had the opportunity to take something very special from the class too.

"I hope your dreams take you... to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.”

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