See these four smiles...
They take me back. Ground me. Remind me of how I got to today. And of course, make me smile.
Once upon a time, I was a single white British but Latina but American teacher in my very early twenties, I mean barely not a teen, fresh off a boat (okay, plane) from Havana, Cuba, looking for a job.
Low and behold, I found that job in a quaint little seaside town, teaching the foreign languages that I had grown up speaking, to kids who occasionally tried to pull my leg by claiming they needed no such thing. But the thing is, they learned those languages with the same magnificence that they learned how to walk, learned how to skate, learned how to sail. Like our joie de vivre or razón para creer, they made it what I asked them to: a metaphor for life. We didn't sit behind a textbook or recite conjugation charts, we danced, we sang, we talked of politics, prisoners, priorities, we raised money, we gave back, heck we even got back on a boat (okay, plane) to Havana together. Twice. I had qualified at Cambridge, taught in England, taught in Honduras, taught in Colombia but it turned out that being an independent school Spanish teacher in New England was pretty much what I was born to do. At least what completed me. At that time, in that place, meeting my husband and traveling the world with him and my students, what a life.
6 years at that school where I, too, grew and learned, only to then have the gift of my own babies being born. One baby, two babies, three. Phew. I tried to keep that pasión within the walls alive but my heart belonged with my precious little ones. How could I teach other people's children to live and laugh and learn when my own babies were somewhere down the road being held by relative strangers? To this day I miss my students, the ones I never taught, but especially the ones I did. I miss the magic of the classroom. The impact of that age. The endless possibility that teaching an entire language provided. Gosh, we could accomplish anything together. And while my heart has been magnified in many a new way, a part of me will always be that young, idealistic and hopeful Señorita.
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| Cuba 2010 with G3 and awesome, awesome co! |
Where am I going with this? If a picture's worth a thousand words, then what am I to do?
I used to teach these beautiful faces you see below. One G, two Gs, three Gs. (The fourth, falls into the category of those students I never taught who I somehow miss anyway.) When their mom contacted me a few weeks ago to take their pictures before G1 headed to college last week, my heart soared. Taking pictures has become my other passion since those buenos días years, and is now my way of life. Having my many worlds collide in this way was a treat to say the least. Really, more of an honor.
You will fall in love with these smiles because they are beautiful, as in magazine and model beautiful, a snapshot of youth and joy, the brother and sisterhood of our age, the pride of their parents. You will love them for the soft light, the crisp colors, the exuberant emotion, the capturing of children on the verge of adulthood, the beginning of an age, the right of passage. There is a lot to love.
But I love them because it is because of the kindness and smarts of kids like these, and their forming parents, that I became who I am today. I learned to work hard, give much, bounce back, seek beauty, keep smiling, expect excellence. I am grateful to them, grateful to give them these photos and grateful to be here, now, where, once again, I am supposed to be.
Un rayo de sol es suficiente para borrar millones de sombras. -San Francisco de Asís.
You know it.
G Family, you were wonderful!
You are wonderful!
What a joy to capture you!
And G1... I wish you luck! God's speed! All the goodness you always have had!
Now go and call your Mom!
A pesar de sus falsedades, trabajos pesados y sueños arruinados, todavía es un mundo bonito.
Esfuércese por ser feliz.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy. - Max Ehrmann, Desiderata 1927
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