passions. not the soap. this happens to be my life!

"And all shall be well, and the manner of thing shall be well." --Julian of Norwich, 15th Century England

As many of you know, I refuse to throw anything away. I'm a clutterbug. I am preserving a part of my history, regardless if anyone has any mind to read it when I am gone, I like the idea that I will leave a trail of memories that will help everyone to understand my passions more precisely, than hearing me just ramble about them, year after year. The above quote was written by a professor/mentor from college a few eyars back; it's pinned to my corl board in my kitchen. These artifacts or excerpts from my life, expess my deepest sorrows and celebrate my hopes and dreams as they take shape today, tomorrow and the next and the next....

One of my passions is painting. My BA in Fine Art granted me an opportunity to gain skills I hadn't dreamed of acquiring, and yet, I graduated with more than an aesthetic of beauty; I realized the beauty of community from becoming a member of flux, which helped me to make connections with people who have literally driven me home, who have held my hand in the middle of sorrow and who have helped me to see that I can act selfish--therefore, I still have room to grow.

Another one of my passions is learning. "To seek to learn is to seek to serve." After getting my MA in Art Therapy, I suddenly realized that I wanted to keep going to school to get my Ph.D or to become a lawyer, to eventually sit as a Family Court Judge. Expressing my dreams in words is almost likepoetry, for me to understand and for you to wonder if I've finally lost my noggin'.
But I have to tell you that I can't sit still. I have been known to daydream, to be driven off the designatedcourse to find out, what is it, over there, that I haven't seen? To learn is to realize that I want to use that knowledge to serve. I want to remember on a daily basis that there's more to life than the ladder of success, a steep bank account, ownership of a car or studio. All those things are tempting to grasp, but I have so much more that I hope to accomplish, that I can't play around with money or time.

My passion to make a difference can't become another feel good headline in another magazine, I want to inspire a dominoe effect, a falling of ideas for a new restructutring that will push us forward in the 21st Century. We cannot step in the same river twice, we cannot expect to be the same leader as we will be tomorrow. Our strengths limit our growth when we consider how how our weaknesses actually challenge us to better fulfill the hopes of the children who are growing up displaced or hidden. I need to know that tomorrow and the next day hold the most potential for change, based on the understanding that we have to be more motivated to make changes in our lives.

My smaller, indiscriminate passions include the consumption of fine wine and cheeses, a splendid walk through Central Park, blank canvases to be painted while "Over the Rhine" is playing in the background, a chai tea on a cold wintry day as I write or draw in my sketchbool while I people watch from inside starbucks, letting my voice be heard, wether it be about voting, Saving Darfur, or creating scholarships for art students in need.