Inspirations

Jeff and I are reading Zig Ziglar's book Better than Good; Creating a Life You Can't Wait to Live. The last chapter we read was on passion and the process of maintaining it. He made two points that hit home for me. The first was that everyone needs a mentor. The second was that inspiration fuels passion, so you must continue to seek out inspiration in order to keep your passion alive. I had never thought of it that way!

I made a document tonight with pictures of many people who have influenced me in various ways: as a musician, as a Christian, as a person, as a teacher, etc. I feel inspired already!

Here's the list so far:
Lorna Perpall
Rod Cathey
Robert Sage
Xander Koops
Dennis Royse
Ruth Meints
Eric Whitacre
Patricia Edwards
Corrie ten Boom
Dmitri Shostakovich
C. S. Lewis
John Ortberg
Mike Yaconelli
Amy Grant
Mister Rogers
Moses Hogan

Who's on your list? Mine is growing fast! I am so thankful to all of these individuals for their contributions to the world, and to my own life. Most of them probably have no idea. Some of them are (obviously) no longer in this world. But all of them have impacted me and shaped who I am in some way.

On to new old things

I decided I wanted to be a teacher at about the age of 9, as nearly as I can tell. Odd for a home schooled kid, but it was a passion and I pursued it. I planned on teaching English until I met Ms. Perpall, my high school choir teacher. She was amazing and inspiring and valued the work that I put into choir enough to give me a lot of opportunities. In a way, she saved my life. I had been in such a spiral before.... Anyway, I decided to teach music and off I went to college.

I got my first teaching job at the age of 21 and, other than a brief and painful stint as a claims adjuster, it's the only professional job I've ever had. And I love it.

So it was odd to come to summer this year with no plans to teach in the future. I had told my school that they should probably get a music teacher who could teach all year, and that I was only willing to teach through January. They hired someone. It was finished. I got a temp job in a local insurance office.

My school, however, called me in a panic to say that the music teacher they hired had decided on a different school at the last minute and asked if I could come back until I have the baby. First I freaked out, then I agreed. Now I'm excited. Putting off a career change for an extra five months sounds fabulous.

Here's hoping this is my best (half) year ever!