It's such an old lesson that I kick myself every time I forget it. But life keeps dealing all of us so many curve balls that we often fall for the pitch, swinging early or late, and missing badly.
What I mean, of course, is we let depression or despair overcome us, when the reality is there still is another pitch coming, and that one just might be a nice fat fastball thrown right down through the center of the plate.
I'm not sure any of these metaphors make sense to anyone other than a baseball fanatic, so let me be clear what I am writing about here. It's personal. It's about being a father. It's about finding out how to best help my kids find their future paths.
Every kid is different. Today I took my 17-year-old on his first college visit. He met with various people at the campus, including the athletic director, which is appropriate, given his skill as a soccer player.
But what really turned him on was a meeting with an English professor, who understood his love of writing poetry, and most especially, his love of hip-hop.
All of a sudden, this man, the child of immigrants in the Central Valley, was inspiring my son, to pursue his love of writing, music, and the passion of those who have few other channels to express themselves.
For me, not only as a parent, but as an educator and a writer, it was one of the most special moments of my life. We all have the capacity to inspire each other to aspire to create art.
Most of the time, however, we fail. We fall back on practical advice. As a parent, I admit to retreating to this place too often lately. Times are hard, for us, in our family.
We're struggling.
But artists always have struggled, including writers, who rarely are paid what we ought to be paid, IMHO.
Today, a Latino man who has spent most of his life helping kids from the Hood gain hope in themselves took the time and trouble to connect with a different kind of kid from another Hood, trying to find his identity.
I am ever so grateful. I will always be grateful. Because he reminded me of who I have always been, in essence.
We give each other hope. Write, sing, paint, draw!
Pursue your dreams!
Our time here is short. Never waste a moment.
-30-
3 comments:
BRAVO!!!!!! I am applauding this post- this is truly inspiring and reminds us that we never know when we will impact someone else- or touch someone else.
Thank you for sharing!
(no need to post this)- but just wanted you to know that I read through this another time- and I am truly inspired- it made me smile!!
Thank you for sharing...another smile here
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