I don't normally get up this early, however today is a very special occasion. I'm about to head downtown to pay a visit to Trinity Street Elementary School for "Career Day".
Honestly, I've been looking forward to this day all year. Last time I felt so inspired and uplifted by spending the morning with children who have hopes and dreams unbound that I immediately agreed to return for the next opportunity.
When I was in elementary school I wanted to be an artist. After telling my grandma of my dream, she told me in a grave voice that artists starve. I had this vision of myself huddled around a dying fire in a makeshift lean-to, wearing a ratty old blanket for warmth. I was dirty and covered in paint splatters. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and a whole shit ton of colorful canvases, paints, and brushes.
From that moment forward, whenever a grown-up asked me what I wanted to be, I'd say a veterinarian. Not because I no longer wanted to be an artist, and certainly not because I wanted to be a vet, but because I didn't want other people to think of me starving. I thought I would just go be an artist anyway and starve in secret. It didn't have to be any of their business.
Today my goal is to provide the kids with the belief that anything is possible and that they can be, do, and have whatever it is they want. Cuz guess what? I know a lot of well-fed artists. And I know a lot of grown-ups with good, safe 9-to-5 jobs who are starving for a taste of life.
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