Change agent

As I sat in the front pews of graduation, I listened to the guest speaker at commencement and heard him share a few words. Don't be a statistic. Be the difference and change your situation through hard work and doing what is right and good. A black man who grew up in Compton by a single mother. Who decided to get higher education and became a senator for the USA. Amazing he can use the work he does to make a change in the community he grew up in. Gratifying to see him coming back to his roots and motivating others to be that change in their own communities. 

This is why I got into the field I work in...I wanted to be a change agent. Let's be honest, I know I can't  reach all my students but if each and every class I reach one person imagine the exponential growth. If that one person impacts one other person's life and so forth, then the change that occurs can be world changing. Isn't  it my responsibility to pay it forward to those that educated me and inspired me to be a better me? I say, YES!!!! There was a day I was told by my first principal that I had the potential to do great. It was in first grade. I never forgot her. Sister Ann Clarita may she rest in peace. She believed in me and saw in me a drive that would carry me through the next 18 years of education.

Sitting next to my colleague who teaches World Religion, we discussed the idea of practicing your beliefs. What do I mean? When you believe in theology, you need to support that belief through actions. For example, if I believe we are to love one another as the 10 commandments says. Then, I need to love everyone. To go a step further that includes those that have wronged me. Why? I believe it therefore I should practice it. I should be that example. I should not boast it but it should just be part of my everyday living so that EVERYONE WHO COMES MY WAY, can see I am a believer. I can be a change agent that I am born and baptized to be. If we are all reminded of this every morning and can see our blessings then change can happen. Our world needs it badly. 

I aspire to this every day. I'm not always successful but what is amazing. Each day I get that much closer. 

 

Music to my ears

These days organized chaos is just an understatement. Soccer season starting, volleyball is my preteen's choice this year and music is how my baby is coping with her schedule change from the summer.

I recall my parents telling me as a child that I would benefit from music and piano was going channel my inner genius. Dad would always encourage us to be our best. And, say "Are you going to be the first woman president?" And, "Miss Universe"? How about a lawyer?  Talk about setting the bar high. I remember struggling to meet my parents expectations. They got good grades, excelled in their careers and their second career after immigrating to a foreign land. How courageous they were...they forged for their growing family and housed their extended family. And. They rose high. They created a wealth of assets...then as hard as they worked to earn it. They lost it. All of it! By the time my parents were my age, they had 4 children, filed for bankruptcy and lost all their properties. We moved from a quiet suburb neighborhood  and a house with a decent square footage to the heart of the city of Angels. What a culture shock it was for me and my brothers. I had music and drill team... my saving grace. It kept me out of trouble. It kept me focused from my ADD/dyslexic (self diagnosed).

Today is no different. I wake up to listening to music. I play it in the car on the way to school. It is on my drive home and I love to hear my daughter sing. She has a raw talent that I wished I had as a child. My other daughter plays the piano by ear and loves to play without having me nagging her. My newborn responds to my lullabies with my own lyrics. There is a difference in how I parent but this early introduction my parents planted in me is something I have given as a gift to my children.

There are studies of how important  music is to the mental development in newborns and children. But, our education system has failed our children by budget cuts and taking away music programs. If only every child of every socioeconomic  status would have available to them the ability to learn an instrument, sing in a choir, dance and perform in theater, would we have less students bullying or less suicides?  I deduct we would have more confident kids who are willing to focus on strong core values of team work, accountability, and leadership. 

http://m.mic.com/articles/108022/science-just-discovered-something-amazing-about-what-childhood-piano-lessons-did-to-you

There are nonprofits and funding  available to those in need. Here are a few resources in the Los Angeles and Inland Empire areas.

• http://heartofla.org/arts/music
• http://culturela.org/musicla/
• http://fendermuseum.com/