What's Your Dream?

Good Morning Students, Staff (and other loyal readers),

If you've been following along, you'll know I have not posted in a few days.  My lack of posts recently can be attributed to the final crunch, obviously, but also to the reality of full-time in-person school days.  It became much harder to write each day with so many of you fully present.  Also, because you were all present, I could see you more often, and hopefully offer the same pearls of wisdom in person rather than in writing. 

And so it seems, the purpose of this particular blog has come to an end...but not without a few more final reflections.  

First I'll say, I have absolutely loved writing this blog.  Long before the pandemic, I had toyed with the idea of writing.  This dream of publishing something "someday" materialized as I became a reader in high school.  I found that I very much enjoyed reading books that documented the lives of real people in real situations.  Here are some good examples: 

Counting Coop - 

Along the banks of the Little Big Horn, Indians and whites live in age-old conflict and young Indians grow up without role models or dreams. Here Sharon carries the hopes and frustrations of her people on her shoulders as she battles her opponents on and off the court. Colton delves into Sharon's life and shows us the realities of the reservation, the shattered families, the bitter tribal politics, and a people's struggle against a belief that all their children -- even the most intelligent and talented -- are destined for heartbreak. Against this backdrop stands Sharon, a fiery, undaunted competitor with the skill to dominate a high school game and earn a college scholarship. Yet getting to college seems beyond Sharon's vision, obscured by the daily challenge of getting through the season -- physically and psychologically.

In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle - 

Originally published in 1995 to huge critical acclaim and a finalist for the NBCC Award for Nonfiction, Madeleine Blais’s In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle is a modern sports writing classic. Now expanded and updated with a new epilogue, Blais’s book tells the story of a season in the life of the Amherst Lady Hurricanes, a powerhouse girls’ high school basketball team from a small western Massachusetts college town. The Hurricanes were a talented team with a near-perfect record, but for five straight years, when it came to the crunch of the playoffs, they somehow lacked the scrappy, hard-driving desire to go all the way. Now, led by senior guards Jen Pariseau, a three-point specialist, and Jamila Wideman, an All-American phenom, this was the year to prove themselves. It was a season to test their passion for the sport and their loyalty to each other, and a chance to discover who they really were.

The Hungry Ocean - A Swordboat Captian's Journey - 

The term fisherwoman does not exactly roll trippingly off the tongue, and Linda Greenlaw, the world's only female swordfish boat captain, isn't flattered when people insist on calling her one. "I am a woman. I am a fisherman. . . I am not a fisherwoman, fisherlady, or fishergirl. If anything else, I am a thirty-seven-year-old tomboy. It's a word I have never outgrown."

I love these kinds of stories.  I suppose they do the same thing for me that counseling does.  I am uniquely interested in the lives of people.  I am always curious to understand what motivates people, and what inspires them.  I, in turn, am inspired by the unique stories diverse people bring to the world.  The stories of CBMS students and the examples of those above are important to me, and I doubt that I will ever tire of listening to people share their experiences.  

Because I love the stories of people and because I have taken such an active role in interacting with people throughout my career, I have always felt that someday writing about my experiences with others in some way would be cool.  (Don't worry, you're not going to find your story splashed into the pages of my first novel! 😆)  The reality is that it's pretty unlikely that I'll ever get around to becoming a published writer, but...this blog has really fed my dream a bit, and has given me an outlet to share knowledge, and positivity with a diverse audience which has been really cool and fulfilling.  I feel like if I never publish a book, that's okay because I did become a real blogger! 

So I ask you, what's your dream?  What do you want to do?  What do you want to become?  What do you want to see of the world?  What do you want to try?  What do you want to experience?  

Here are some things I still want to do...

I want to learn about architecture and interior design.  

I want to build my own home.

I want to convert a van and drive around the country with my husband when I retire.

I want to go to Europe and backpack across it!

I want to take each of my kids on a trip of their choosing to another country they want to explore.  

There is so much to do in this world, and frankly not a lot of time or opportunity to do it all, so we have to be really clear with our dreams and really drive for them.  We can't wait around for someone else to make things happen for us.  We can't not do the work involved and expect our dreams to come true.  We can't expect it to all be easy and safe and planned out.  We have to risk, and work, and create, and envision, and take responsibility, and fail, and try again, and start anew over and over and over again.  

THIS. is. life.  It's messy and beautiful, and hard and wonderful, and unexpected and magical.  

So please, DREAM...and make them all come true!  

As I draw this writing project to a close I wish you love, peace, and light as we continue our journeys together (and apart).  

And...I wish you all the best dreams!!

Mrs. Hempey