Shifting focus.

Life changes.

I know from working with teenagers for decades that this is normal - they often leave high school with one idea of who they want to become, and then they come back during college telling me that they have already gone through some big changes. 

Sometimes it even comes with a change in major after discovering something new about themselves. 

A new passion.

Now I have begun to undergo this transition as an older professional with a design background and a really passionate few decades of teaching. I have felt very good about teaching high school students for so long, and I still do. My passion for teaching is not diluted.

However, my desire to do something new is strong right now, and I want to aggressively approach a new creative period in my life. Rather than spending all day helping older students, and doing teacher work, I want to provide a creative product that will appeal to young children. I believe that this shift in focus has been brought on by my young grandchildren, Logan and Landry. They are really such sparks of light to me, and inside that light lives all of my creative inspiration. I am ready to begin anew!

The newest angel in our family, baby Landry.

My grandson Logan, he teaches me every time I see him.

So here comes a creative grandmother with lots of years of experiences under her belt, ready to set up her own studio with lots of vim and vigor, preparing to attack a new phase as a childrens' writer and illustrator. 

I actually want to be what some of my students already are. They have pursued their dreams and made themselves into exactly who they wanted to become. (I think of Sidney Higgins and Simini Blocker and the Cangelosi sisters among many others.) 

See, I finally need to become more invested in the actual act of creation and a bit less invested on a day to day basis with teaching software and grading projects. I have been a teacher for long enough to know how to heed my own advice, and that is to find what speaks to you and to strongly pursue it. I have done my share of counseling high school students for over 20 years, and it has been rewarding and created some lifelong friends. 

There is a genuinely great feeling when you know you were part of their discovery process. 

I mean it is a REALLY great feeling. 

Ryan Brownhill is now a product designer for Facebook, but when I first met him, he was a middle school kid coming to my summer design camp (The MAC - Media Arts Camp) and he had a driving interest in design. Now he makes me tear up thinking about my career in teaching and how to put a pretty bow on it before I shift focus. This video that Ryan sent to be a part of my retirement reception helps.

Real talk: Creativity cannot be shelved for too long in a truly creative individual. I have had mine on the shelf for too long now, so now I have the gift of time to work on that aspect of myself again. I am really living a 24K life right now, thinking about retirement and having time to challenge myself to do the things that will bring me personal satisfaction and happiness.

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” ~C. S. Lewis