Back From Break

The biggest reason I never purchased a domain name for this blog was because I was worried that taking that step would make blogging feel like something I had to do rather than something I wanted to do. I didn’t want to turn yet another thing that I love into a chore; I wanted the ability to step away when I felt like it. I’m honestly impressed by how regularly I blogged about travel, and for how long. Even when there were natural breaks in my writing (which echoed the long stretches between trips) or when I was backdating posts to fill gaps, from 2013-2018, I ended up with a solid five-years-worth of posts.

Then, following my 2018 summer trip to Spain, I stopped blogging. I didn’t stop traveling - I had a great spring break trip in 2019. But when I got back from Mexico, I didn’t feel like writing about it. My work contract had changed for the 2018-2019 school year and I was demoted from faculty to staff. My new staff position meant I was doing the same work as before (in fewer hours) in addition to working the aftercare program and - most importantly - as part of my new contract, I was required to work summer camp as well. It was the school’s way of keeping me employed in light of budget restructuring, for which I was grateful… but it also just really sucked. I love teaching art and would do it regardless, but having summers off is a huge perk. It is also a necessity. Teaching is intense work, and it’s incredibly easy to burn out without having time to recenter yourself and live your own life for a bit.

My career prospects had done a U-turn and I was generally unhappy. During the 2018-2019 school year, I applied to every art education position I qualified for and got depressingly few calls back. I took the week of spring break off (my benefits were still amazing) and visited Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende with my mom. While we’d traveled together many times before, this was the first trip where I’d been 100% in charge of the itinerary. My mom is a former travel agent, so you know, no pressure! My love of travel is largely due to her and it was so nice to be able to share that time together. Returning home, I went straight back to work. I still haven’t completed my photo book of the trip, almost a year later.

Summer camp in itself was fun, as I was given freedom to develop my own classes. In two courses - folk art of Japan and folk art of Mexico - I tied travel and art together. We created fuurin, koinobori, hanko, sumi-e paintings, and loads of origami; alebrijes, nichos, Oaxacan-inspired pottery, Otomi embroidery, and Huichol beading. I was able to bring in souvenirs as examples to show the kids and used videos by Japanese and Mexican artists to get a more authentic picture of crafting traditions in both countries. We had a blast.

Toward the end of the summer, I got a call from a school I’d applied to months earlier. In what felt like a whirlwind, I was hired and, after a short trip to see my parents in Canada, started as the middle school art teacher. I’m loving every day, and while I have a lot to do between now and then, I am so looking forward to having a summer break this year. I don’t have any big plans - I’ll be spending money I usually use for travel on coursework to earn my teaching license - but just the possibility of being able to have plans is exciting!