Vintage Brooch Wreath and the Molder of a Million Dreams

Here is project #1 from Style School. I am pretty happy with the wreath. The vintage flower 'brooches' I can remove and use on card or re-use on the wreath over and over again. I intend to make some new flowers for Valentines day and possibly make another wreath for fall. It turned out super cute!

Its Monday so I am at school....in meetings all day.

We are supposed to have an inspirational speaker.
I generally enjoy these meetings.
I would like to share an old 'Myspace' blog post
{long before the days of this little blog of mine}

from February 2008:

Molder of a million dreams

We had a meeting Monday at school with a motivational speaker. I love listening to speakers and I hate listening to them at the same time. For the very same reasons that I hate really good movies. My favorite movies make me laugh and cry. This speaker did exactly that.

One thing he mentioned was the Shakespheareian notion of a tragedy and a comedy. He explained that to some people, life is a comedy, and to others life his a tragedy. To the 'thinkers' of the world, life is a comedy. To the 'feelers' of the world, life is a tragedy. He said that most people were a little bit of both, but some people leaned far into one realm of thinking or the other.

Immediately, I imagined myself as a thinker. Optimistic, good sense of humor, and somewhat ,occasionally, cold hearted....But as he went on to share that he was a feeler, he told stores about his experiences in the classroom. Some of the stories were funny, but many of them were SO touching to the heart, that I was nearly sobbing by the end. As I looked around the auditorium of people, a couple hundred of them, a few were dabbing their eyes with tissues, but my cheeks were so tear stained and my nose so red that I looked worse than after I had attended my grandmas funeral.

On the morning break, we had to make our way to the restroom full of sophisticated women touching up their makeup and I looked dreadful. In a glance, everyone passing knew that I was a feeler. My bold, routine attempts to wear a cheery facade, and my optimism as an exterior were wiped clear, as every one could see my tearful exterior worn down by my weakness.

In the field of education, having a heart is not a weakness. Being a feeler is not a weakness, and it wasn't a bad thing to shed a few tears. I was just totally embarrassed to have misjudged the essence of my own Qi. To have underestimated my heart's power and emotional connection to the world means that I generally wander around ignoring something that can actually hold a lot of power. Being a feeler means that I can build relationships and empathize and love.

The speaker said that as a teacher, I am the molder of a million dreams. (here come the tears again) Wow, my very existence has the power to make or break the experience of my students. Thanks Guy Dowd for being the 1987 teacher of the year. You make me strive to be a better person and a more passionate feeler.