High School Muse-ical

Nobody likes you when your 23

And you still act like you're in Freshman year

What the hell is wrong with me?

My friends say I should act my age

What's my age again?

What's my age again?

TODAY'S BLOG WAS INSPIRED BY MORE THAN ONE PERSON FOR MORE THAN ONE INCIDENT AND MORE THAN ONE OF YOU CAN RELATE:

High School staff, more than their elementary school counterparts, have the unique opportunity of working with young people on the brink of who they want to become. High School, specifically, lends itself to an uncertainty that is carefully masked by adolescent bravado and the ever present PEER PRESSURE. An educator on the high school level must have made peace with his or her high school experiences and moved beyond the pitfalls of fitting in, acceptance and approval to wield the confidence and authority over those going through it in REAL TIME. We have to resist the urge to show the short cuts and allow our students the opportunity to discover things on their own.
A Stockholm's Syndrome of sorts develops among staff in a high school that mirrors that of the students. Only a confident and actualized adult educator can avoid the same fate as the students. Many look at their career in education as a chance to get it right; a do-over. This has a lasting impact on peer-to-peer relations as different colleagues may be on different levels. It is a slippery-slope that too many fall victim to. The media publicizes the TEACHER DATES STUDENT incidents for the sensationalism, but the school system loses overall when these events are made public. Public school also loses when staff members are not upfront and honest about their own experiences.
Un-confronted issues like NOT MAKING THE TEAM, TEACHER'S PET, PROCRASTINATION, Being POPULAR or an OUTSIDER. These are all characteristic that in un-checked develop at an advanced pace the second time around. Only this time, the authority , money, influence and material/possessions have an increased affect on self-esteem. A staff member with unresolved issues might find themselves in competition with the students or staff members. He or she might confide in students they over identify with or punish students that remind them of classmates who victimized them. They may even seek to identify with students who remind them of the social once excluded from in pursuit of that elusive acceptance. The is creates a situation where the staff member is more unbearable than the students.

High School, "It ain't for everybody"

So Who were you in High School?? I bet you can tell who I was.

On-the-Go Playlist

There are almost 3,000 songs in my iTunes library. As you can imagine, I have several playlists to prevent myself from scrolling though to the song I may be seeking at anytime. Shape Up has artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Jennifer Lopez and Kanye West's Work Out Plan. Riverside has Roger Troutman, Old Ice Cube from my freshman year in college and PHS 1987 reflects my New Wave/Ska moment. NiteNite is full of Love songs, Grown Up is that mellowed out Neo-Soulish R&B thing and PraiseNWorship is self explanatory. Each of my playlists is like a special child to me. I don't love one more than the other, but I put my whole heart into the song selections. When a song pops from the catalogue in my head, I put it in my blackberry or my iTunes library and categorize it.

Last week I had an interesting encounter driving through the Allegheny Mountains in a thunderstorm. My co-pilot/travel companion and I took turns creating the an on-the-go playlist for the iPod. We were looking for songs that sent a message to one another about how we were feeling. He would pick a sappy sentimental song, I'd choose funny and witty songs "Don't Wait For Me." by Morris Day and the Time. He'd play "Ordinary People" by John Legend and I'd pick "A Real Mother" by Johnny Guitar Watson. The game got good to us and we made it to our destination all smiles, oblivious to the 18 wheelers, rain, fog, thunder and lightening.

The music game is one of my favorites and music is often a conversation starter at a party. My favorite question to a room full of people is if you only had 5 albums you could have for the rest of your life (greatest hits and compilations excluded) what would they be? How does your dream playlist look? Is it long? Is it sappy? Is it upbeat? Most importantly, will it keep you company on those rainy nights, that long run or the toughest level on the elliptical machine at the gym because the journey of life goes a lot smoother with a good travel companion and music is mine.

The Young and The Restless

If there is one Soap Opera that is recognized by the music, it is the Young and the Restless. When you hear that piano, you automatically know what it is....it's a soap....

The other day, in an attempt to get to the golf course, my special friend said to me "I can't help myself, I'm just restless." Just like that, a light went off in my head and my heart. The past three serious relationships I have had have been with men who had wandering hearts. Men who have looked off into the distance and pursued unattainable goals. As a young girl in love, this was exciting! It was mysterious!!

I have now recognized that my attraction was to men who had unsettled hearts. I used to think it was ambition, but it is instability. The irony here is that I am not the most stable person but I am able offer stability to my partners. This is in part because of my loyal nature and because I come from a stable background and am able to imitate it well. I guess I am such a great actress that I'm trapped in a terrible Soap Opera.

As a reformed Soap Opera addict I learned early that they are full of drama by their very nature. The year after my divorce my personal mantra was " I REFUSE TO LIVE IN A SOAP OPERA!" Those first years I was living in one big romantic comedy and it was fun. It was inspirational, but this Soap Opera is going to have to be downgraded to a mini-series. The mini-series is a lost art. My mom and I used to love watching mini-series {Thornbirds was one of my favorites} not just because they were juicy, but because the suspense would eventually end. Soap Operas have no ending, so I am giving up this Soap Opera like I did in college. No more for me.

I have taken the liberty of naming my own, what is yours? How are THE DAYS OF YOUR LIVES? Are you BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL? Do you live with PASSION AS THE WORLD TURNS? My suggestion is to be your own GUIDING LIGHT and don't end up in GENERAL HOSPITAL because at the end of the day you only have ONE LIFE TO LIVE.

The Grapes of Wrath

There is a punchline to a commercial that goes "I'm free as grocery store grapes" to which the other person responds : TECHNICALLY they're not free. Have you ever eaten grapes in the grocery store? Did you know they were NOT free? How many free samples have you taken in your life and not paid for? More importantly how many times has someone taken free samples of you and not given you what you deserved? NO I am NOT TALKING ABOUT SEXUALLY (although it is a valid comparison). I am referring to your time, your energy, your trust, your goodwill. This is NOT JUST ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX EITHER, we have friends, family members, co-workers and an variety of characters in our lives that sample the grapes without paying for them.
This is not a suggestion that there is a fee for our company, but we should consider ourselves and our time a valuable commodity. We must evaluate our worth as to not equate it to something as accessible as the grapes in the grocery store. Think about how unprotected yet appealing they are as you walk through the produce section. They are just begging to be tasted. Consider on the other hand, the strawberries. They are in a protective box. It feels like stealing when you take one. Grapes on the other hand are just there for the taking. NO WONDER people feel free to do so. For our own preservation, we must make ourselves less accessible to any and every passer by. WE have to protect ourselves because when we don't we come up short. The very time we need to put our best selves forward, we end up depleted; just an over plucked vine.
Stop giving your grapes away!!!