Tonight it was my plan to go to a coffee shop to work on my Teacher Work Sample all night. But as it so often does, my plan changed when I unexpectedly ran into the representatives from Marshall University visiting the students at Ellington. I got to go with them to dinner and then listen to them do their recruiting thing. Sounds like a great university. So 3 hours later it’s 8:00, I realize that I probably shouldn’t be out trying to catch a bus in the dark, but don’t have a lot of options. I walk downstairs only to hear the sound of amazing jazz music coming from a room I have yet to explore. So I walk in, am greeted by one of my students, and find myself a seat to watch.

So here I am, at Chai Latte. (i found out that's what the event is called)

I’m sitting here watching the most amazing jazz band I’ve ever heard consisting of 6 high schoolers that would give anyone a run for their money. People piled in orange and white chairs crowding around in a blackened cafeteria, tonight called the “Banquet Hall.” The music is fighting for attention past the 100 students who are doing their homework or just socializing in the midst, with a few couples taking it upon themselves to be the performers for the night and show off their dance moves as the cool jazz just keeps rolling. My girl Anna gets up to introduce the poem readers. She recites a poem about how “I am my mother’s daughter.” The next about “liquid happiness” and “old women’s eyes.” The next, a boy with sweet dreads, gets up talking about some drugs, I dunno, but everyone else does cuz the audience joins in randomly. The room is illuminated by a few simple lamps. The poem ends and the room erupts in applause, none of it polite, all of it genuine. I sit in the back, typing vigorously at my computer, trying so hard to capture this moment forever on my laptop because my camera just ran out of battery. I have a grin permanently sketched on my face.

And all I can think at this moment is how much I want someone to share in this moment with me.

Cuz when I leave school in the evenings, Ellington is only known to me. Nobody else sees the personalities that make this community so incredibly fun. Nobody sees the way they talk to each other, how well behaved they are in their own special way. They’re LOUD, they’re bold, they’re dramatic, they are so talented. I love my job. I don’t know how anything else I do will compare. When I leave, I have to leave Ellington behind. I don’t know if you grasp how anti-climactic that is! But it is just a memory when I talk about it. I feel like I so often lead a double life, the me that lives in the BYU house with 6 student teachers, goes to ward activities, talks to friends… great life. And then there’s the me that gets to be the artsy Mikale that can kid around with teenages, who gets teased and teases and doesn’t always feel like I’m the color that I really am… I dunno how much sense that makes. Best of both worlds J

I’m meant to be here. I can’t imagine myself any happier than I am within these walls. Just kinda ironic that it’s me alone. And you, I suppose. Blogs are funny that way, I have no idea who else gets to share this moment with me. But welcome to my world, if you’re here.

I still have the problem of finding a way to get home… don’t tell anyone. It’ll be an adventure. not to mention the fact that it dropped 40 degrees and i forgot my jacket cuz it's been blazing hot in my room w/ no AC. But really, it's well worth it. But well worth it. This night was well worth it.


ps- more pics of the Fall Festival at flickr.com/photos... the url is down below...