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  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana

It is almost SPRING BREAK!! Just 7 more hours to go and then I am a FREE woman for 9 whole days!!! I can't even!


I'll be 53 years old this year, but I still feel like just a girl. And in so many ways I am. Just a girl who likes to eat too much. Just a girl who battles daily fears, anxieties and melancholy. Just a girl who loves to write and make art. Just a girl who has a day job and is doing her best to provide for her family. Just a girl who's hair always needs tending to. Just a regular girl standing in front of you, asking you to love me.


:D

  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana

As a treat, I enjoy going into my friend and co-worker's classroom to soak in all his creative energy. Visiting his classroom is the same as walking an art studio--same vibes, same works in progress laying here and there, and yes, same comforting messes.


There is a connection that exists between artists, no matter how disparate those artists and their creative endeavors might seem. There is something about living through the creative process that creates a sense of community, much like labor and birth connects all mothers. The creative process knits us together, a web of knowing in the intimate sense, what its like to be a creator.


I am welcomed into this sacred space every single time, as if I belong there. In this teaching community where I've often felt like an outsider, Mr. T's classroom is a small haven on campus, reminding me of what can still be, and sometimes, to mourn what was lost.



  • Writer's pictureJan Avellana


Today, I am buried under a huge heap of "NEED TO DO NOWS" real life stuff that has me gasping for air! BUT, my blue bird of happiness is my creative life that is slowly being resuscitated (I had to Google that spelling).


Spring break is next week (HOORAY!!!) and one of the things I'm looking forward to doing is cleaning my wee art space--just a desk really--and sitting in that darn chair that only has second chance clothes piled up on it right now. It's such a small act of courage and hope that it's almost not worth mentioning, but it is. Because it's these tiny, microscopic steps that will lead me back toward a fuller creative life--of this I am certain.


What teensy steps are you taking today towards a more fulfilling life? Do tell! I'm right there with ya!

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