When I think of Christian, I think of pent up stories hiding in sketchbooks stacked high on wooden floors. While I have only known Christian for a year, we have often shared moments of laughter and deep insight. I’ve had the honor to look inside those sketchbooks to find super heros, places of wonder, and fragments of the mind. But Christian, like many students, is often pulled in multiple directions. Outside of the world of the art classroom, Christian tries to balance the myriad of academic and social responsibilities placed upon him. When we, as adults, find ourselves in a situation like Christian’s, we often put aside our stories and our drawings in exchange for meeting society’s definition of success. But what is success? How do we measure it? How can we attain it as fast as possible? Or is there an app for it? When I think of success, I think of great narratives found in pages of comics written and illustrated by Alan Moore and Frank Miller, plates in exquisite restaurants, and the blades of grass of ancient places. For all of those things allow us to dream and connect to the fundamental emotions that makes us human. Writer, Marcel Proust, wrote, “If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less, but to dream more, to dream all the time.” Christian remember, your sketchbooks are the start to your story. Don’t be scared to share them.

I had the honor of speaking fro Christian at graduation. Christian was an "art kid", a dreamer, and in search of something "more". While I only worked at St. Peter's for a year (sadly, it wasn't a good fit), teaching a kid like Christian had a huge impact on me. He made me want to be better, to keep striving, to not quit when I wanted to.

Thank you Christian.

Graduation // Christian