First of all, I have to say how astounded and grateful I am to be awarded the Teacher Creativity Fellowship for 2009 from the Lilly Endowment. I’m not sure I’ll ever truly wrap my brain around the fact that I was chosen. But I was, so here I am, presented with an incredible opportunity for personal growth, to take the time to begin to learn something I’ve always wanted to do: play the guitar. I can’t say I’ll be all that good, and at times I can become easily frustrated, but I’m going to try to not let my shortcomings get the best of me. I’ll just remind myself what this is all about: learning.
Along with guitar, I’m going to learn the process of songwriting. I’m quite lucky that one of my favorite musicians/songwriters is going to mentor me through this process: Sean Jackson of Indianapolis. Check out his music at www.finestgrain.com. He’s a genius. Let’s hope I don’t frustrate him completely.
So, I have my guitar, a very lofty goal, and six weeks this summer. Let's see what I can do...
