Dear BPD, PFD, members of QISS Grade 12 ELA, QISS AP Comp Nerds, TB, J, TD, KM, BW, LM, BD, AG, and the love of my life: D²,
Watching the little paper helicopters spin, I felt so happy. So at peace.
Portland’s OMNI felt like home.
Meaning that at that point in time there was no where else I wanted to be. So content in the moment.
Our family’s tide pool. Our own little ecosystem.
So content in the moment.
Content in a formidable way, though, like a big, bladed boulder bends toward Toph — but I want to hold it, mold it, compassionately and with integrity, like water. Like Katara.
Because of that, I write this blog. THIS is for my inner Katara. Intentionally shaping and nourishing a more complete version of me, so that I can see and serve a more complete version of you.
The Toph in me, she needs to live out loud. To do. Create. Equally put in motion by and for the environment that surrounds her.
The “moho.” The unschooling of myself and my children. The intense desire that I have to learn and exist with and to serve the humans around me — outside of tradition, removed from compliance.
Propelled forward by the kind of interest that’s born from equal parts empathy and introspection. A love for learning. A love for teaching. A love for humans and the communities in which they live.
As I work to learn more about myself, I can feel my calling. My purpose. And I’m becoming more and more sure that the way for me to be me, comfortably and confidently, is for me to be me with you.
So, wanna grow together?
Christine (a.k.a. “Mom,” a.k.a. “Ms. D”)
