"I'm going to make this place your home.."
In Texas, I was a diehard American Idol fan. It's incredibly embarrassing to admit that. The recently concluded season produced my favorite idol ever, Phillip Phillips. The past two days, I've heard his first single on the radio three times. I couldn't be happier. Happy not because I imagine myself having babies with Phillip Phillips but because the song puts words (and music) to something I find so important, so meaningful.
Home
Not just having a home, but creating a home. In the song, he talks about ignoring the demons and he promises that he is "going to make this place your home." It reminds me a lot of my students, or people in general. If asked to describe home, I think most people would say it's a place of comfort and safety and kindness. For some, though, reality has created a home that seems polar opposite to those things. For my students, their home, their community, was burdened with violence and stripped of its power to truly create an environment of comfort, safety, kindness.
Yesterday, I visited a school on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While there, I interviewed for a librarian position. After the interview, the principal and a couple teachers showed me the library and I immediately thought of Phillip Phillips' song
"I'm going to make this place your home."
Visions of comfy pillows and reading nooks filled my head. I imagined colors and conversations between new readers and book studies and creative writing projects. I imagined a home, a place of comfort, safety, and kindness. A place where life's demons are lost in the passionate page turning of books and rallying around causes and the empowerment of individuals.
Home is special. Even more special, though, is opportunities to create it.
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