I recently stumbled upon a carefully crafted, illuminating article by writer and cartoonist, Tim Kreider. Brutally beautiful and sad, Tim writes about what he calls "The Referendum", his anxieties about ageing, life choices and the "naked 3AM terror of regret".
Fall always makes me feel nostalgic, and reflective. Maybe it's all that extra time spent indoors, less time on sunny patios on the weekends, and more time in the studio. And all the new relationships, new students and personalities I encounter.
One of my new students told me that she was taking my class to bring some balance to her life, something just for her, an escape. Which got me thinking about what I was doing there (aside from the obvious income it generates), and being grateful for the opportunity to meet so many people that I would likely never had over the years if not for this small part of my life.
I've taught students who were in the middle of a divorce, suffering the loss of a parent, struggling to decide if they should leave their job, wading through the application process of applying for Canadian citizenship, recently retired and wondering what next, people becoming new parents and generally just exploring and wondering.
You learn these things about strangers, whether you want to or not, we share our stories when we share a space together....it's a curious mix of unrelated personalities, a tremendous social experiment, when strangers from every possible background imaginable get together to learn something new together. And everyone has an unusual path, which I am always curious to hear about....it's the contradictions and the wonky bits that make me happy. It's the Margot Tenenbaum in the thrift store dress and the Fendi mink fur.
Full article here:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/the-referendum/?_r=0
Quite a lot of what passes itself off as a dialogue about our society consists of people trying to justify their own choices as the only right or natural ones by denouncing others’ as selfish or pathological or wrong. So it’s easy to overlook that hidden beneath all this smug certainty is a poignant insecurity, and the naked 3 A.M. terror of regret.
Fall always makes me feel nostalgic, and reflective. Maybe it's all that extra time spent indoors, less time on sunny patios on the weekends, and more time in the studio. And all the new relationships, new students and personalities I encounter.
One of my new students told me that she was taking my class to bring some balance to her life, something just for her, an escape. Which got me thinking about what I was doing there (aside from the obvious income it generates), and being grateful for the opportunity to meet so many people that I would likely never had over the years if not for this small part of my life.
I've taught students who were in the middle of a divorce, suffering the loss of a parent, struggling to decide if they should leave their job, wading through the application process of applying for Canadian citizenship, recently retired and wondering what next, people becoming new parents and generally just exploring and wondering.
You learn these things about strangers, whether you want to or not, we share our stories when we share a space together....it's a curious mix of unrelated personalities, a tremendous social experiment, when strangers from every possible background imaginable get together to learn something new together. And everyone has an unusual path, which I am always curious to hear about....it's the contradictions and the wonky bits that make me happy. It's the Margot Tenenbaum in the thrift store dress and the Fendi mink fur.
Full article here:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/the-referendum/?_r=0
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