“Hi, I love you!” I’m posting these photos because I’d like to share these kids. They are worth everything. Trying to encourage them to have hope for their future in dark times, seeing their smiles, telling them they can be pilots or whatever they want… But there’s something more than that. I realize my books don’t exist for any other reason than to have a way to reach out — if I can. I want very much to offer hope, to be a voice that says something positive, to let them see that I know they want their lives to mean something — which isn’t necessarily just accomplishments. It could be how meaningful human connection is. It could be anything if it comes from the heart.
The above photos are from an elementary school. It was a treat to talk to those young minds. And below is a college group. You know what’s surprising? Whether at middle schools or above and below that, afterwards I asked what do you want? What do you want to do? The answers in each age group are similar. The college kids said, I want to travel, fly, be an engineer, etc. The little kids said, I want to be a writer or a pilot. (They mimic what they see.) The middle schoolers say, “I don’t know” a lot. Or often girls say they want to be vets or fashion designers. The boys say gangsters or various careers like firefighter. It is cliche for a reason. If I were to boil this down to extreme simplicity, it would be: we want to help others (be meaningful) or prove our power or creativity (be meaningful). Do you agree?
What do you most want? When do you feel most meaningful?
Love to you, Planet Earth,
Syd
Leave a Reply