Much More

I realized this past weekend what IslandWood is meant to be. It's more than a master's degree. It's more than teaching. It's about pure exploration. There's a need for all of us to explore this life we're leading and I've found a great avenue to do just that. For the past 3 months, I've been exploring this path that I'm on. I'm becoming the educator I hoped for, but I'm also becoming something much more. In truth, I'm not sure if becoming is the word I'd use. It's more about discovery. I've overturned stones and found parts of me I didn't know were there. A bit dramatic? Perhaps. It's been a great few months.


I got the chance to visit Portland this weekend with 3 other grads. Needless to say, we had ourselves a grand old time. We checked out a busy market on a beautiful day, dined with friends in the evening and played trivia on the streets. Despite the lack of an advertised hot tub, the hotel treated us nicely with their comfortable beds and high octane showers. They sent us on our way the next morning with a fresh cookie and a wave. The day would be filled with more waves then we guessed.

Off we went on an adventure to the Oregon coast. We snaked our way through the low coastal mountains and into Ecola State Park. It was everything I would have imagined. Rocky outcrops, choppy waves and intense winds. It was beautiful. People spend too much time indoors. That's one of the things I've really enjoyed about my time here so far. We are out and about all day. We live and teach in the outdoors. I wish we had more of our grad classes outside, but that's what happens when you start assigning credits and grades to everything. As we say around here, we've spent time dissecting the wall of green that is the forest and figuring out the pieces to the puzzle.

The day is done and I'm ready for tomorrow.
liam.