Importance of Music

Every year around this time, I revisit and reminisce my use of music at the end of my opening and the music trivia. Growing up I can always remember being around music.  My parents would play it in the car, around the house, and outside while we were playing.  Music was everywhere.  I grew up listening with my parents to ‘Casey Kasem’s Billboard Top 40’.  My brother, sister, parents, and I would guess what song was going to be number one for the week. We would oftentimes pick a song that was going to be the title song for a trip and then add to it to build a complete soundtrack for ‘our movie’.  No, my parents were not in the music, movie, or entertainment business. They didn’t even play an instrument, but they had a love of music that they gifted to their children. Music can transport anyone to a time and place. It can unlock memories that bring about emotion both bad and good. Music is transcendent. That is one reason the musical references are plentiful.  Imagine your life was a movie and pick a soundtrack that would represent your moment in time.  Transcend the day.. May you have a fantastic weekend. Enjoy...Go PUPS! (cue Cool Change, Little River Band)

Until next time...

Good Old Days

As I was driving to work one day this week, a song came on the radio from January 1986.  The basis of the song is an adult grandchild speaking to her grandfather. She asks her grandfather to tell her about the ‘good old days’ because sometimes it feels like this world’s gone crazy. The more the song played, the more I reflected on the world today.  How things just seem to be a bit crazy.  The land is on fire, the air is so filled with smoke we can taste it, our political process is certainly heated, and COVID is raging. In our case, the ‘good old days’ may just be two years ago.  In the song, the timeframe is much greater.  “Let’s wander back into the past and paint me a picture of long ago”, the artist sings. The more I thought about the lyrics, the more relaxed I became. Yes, everything seems a certain way, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  I do believe life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. Isn’t it all just based on our point of reference?  To reference the song of Carly Simon from 1971, “These are the good old days”. Well, we have made it through the first full week, celebrate that. I wish you all a very relaxing weekend. Enjoy...Go PUPS! (cue Grandpa, The Judds)

Until next time...

Welcome Back

Summer Break is over and we are back. The long days of orientation are now finished and the arrival of the weekend can bring about some rest.  During your reflection, remember the impact you are having on students when you don’t even know they are watching.  Some students show up ready to learn, some show up ready to be entertained, some show up to entertain, nevertheless, they are here and we are the anchor.  We have to be the stability in the shifting tides of life.  We have to show the students how to persevere daily.  Our profession is not easy, however, it can be the most rewarding because when you find that you have made a difference with just one, the feeling is remarkable.  I wish you all a very restful weekend. You have certainly earned it. Enjoy...Go PUPS!

Until next time...