So, as we previously mentioned, we’ve finally finished the mural -- a bittersweet ending. We won’t lie, it was not an easy project. It feels like we’ve spent a majority of our summer vacation at the school. We’ve had to spend a lot of money. We’ve been really tired. We’ve had to plan a lot (something that is definitely not our strong suit). On our final day, we started working at 1:00 and stayed until 12:30 in the morning trying to finish. And we haven’t even cleaned up yet, which will be a process in and of itself.
But it’s there, isn’t it? It stands tall, it doesn’t look half bad, and we’ve had a real adventure doing it. We learned how to brew tea in the English office. We finally had our picnic. We tried to watch the sunset a bunch of times and just happened to miss it each time. We saw KR. We met Gustav. We even bumped into Ryan and his dog Luther on our last day. And when we finished yesterday, it really didn’t feel like the end. This process - going to an empty school, painting on the wall, taking lunch breaks in the field - it has almost become routine to us. And through all the great snacks (cookies from Costco and bagels from Einstein’s) and background soundtracks (Hand Covers Bruise) and paint-ruined clothes and productive breaks and golden hour photoshoots and improvised ideas...all the deep philosophical talks we always seem to have (which usually end with “life is hard”), all the work stories (we’ll miss Traditions), all the cheap paint brushes and snapped pencils and slow realizations...it is hard not to imagine next year’s class, and the class after that, and every class that follows, walking through this hall and seeing our mural. Seeing the art we left behind. And so, in the end, that’s what it’s really been about--leaving a legacy, one 21 by 7 foot wall and a couple of memories at a time.
Thank you to Ms. Snow and Ms. Mizoguchi for coming up with this idea--it was a good one. And thank you to Ms. Latimer and Ms. O’connell for helping us through this process. We’ll probably blog more, maybe not about the mural and definitely not anything as sappy, but we’ll come up with something.
CQOTD: “I was trying to feel some kind of good-bye. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-bye or a bad good-bye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t you feel even worse.”
But it’s there, isn’t it? It stands tall, it doesn’t look half bad, and we’ve had a real adventure doing it. We learned how to brew tea in the English office. We finally had our picnic. We tried to watch the sunset a bunch of times and just happened to miss it each time. We saw KR. We met Gustav. We even bumped into Ryan and his dog Luther on our last day. And when we finished yesterday, it really didn’t feel like the end. This process - going to an empty school, painting on the wall, taking lunch breaks in the field - it has almost become routine to us. And through all the great snacks (cookies from Costco and bagels from Einstein’s) and background soundtracks (Hand Covers Bruise) and paint-ruined clothes and productive breaks and golden hour photoshoots and improvised ideas...all the deep philosophical talks we always seem to have (which usually end with “life is hard”), all the work stories (we’ll miss Traditions), all the cheap paint brushes and snapped pencils and slow realizations...it is hard not to imagine next year’s class, and the class after that, and every class that follows, walking through this hall and seeing our mural. Seeing the art we left behind. And so, in the end, that’s what it’s really been about--leaving a legacy, one 21 by 7 foot wall and a couple of memories at a time.
Thank you to Ms. Snow and Ms. Mizoguchi for coming up with this idea--it was a good one. And thank you to Ms. Latimer and Ms. O’connell for helping us through this process. We’ll probably blog more, maybe not about the mural and definitely not anything as sappy, but we’ll come up with something.
CQOTD: “I was trying to feel some kind of good-bye. I mean I’ve left schools and places I didn’t even know I was leaving them. I hate that. I don’t care if it’s a sad good-bye or a bad good-bye, but when I leave a place I like to know I’m leaving it. If you don’t you feel even worse.”
Really enjoyed following your journey! Much thanks from the community
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