“…. there is hope for the future. I have met them and they work.”
Oh, what a fortunate man am I.
The road from where I come to where I’m going has been ripe with as many ruts and stones and potholes, and crevices. But it’s also, at times, been as smooth as glass, and as scenic as the grand canyon or the shores of a far way island.
What the heck am I talking about?
Perhaps I’m taking a moment to show gratitude for what opportunities I’ve been given. For the hands that helped me up when I fell, and the guides that put me on the right path.
I’m doing that rather than lamenting or recounting the countless disappointments, accidents, poor choices, and insidiously arranged roadblocks I encountered along the way. Way too much coverage of that going on, not for the sake of accuracy, but because negativity sells – or so they say. But that’s a subject for another time.
Considering I consider some of my early challenges I have to say that luck definitely played a part in what I’ve been able to accomplish. And because I recognize this, I can fully embrace with great appreciation the gifts I’ve been given, and thus I’ve tried as best I can throughout these many years to give back as much as I’ve received.
Those of you who have followed some of my exploits, know some of my history. So I’ll focus on the present.
In the latter part of 2022, I was offered an opportunity to teach a full semester of screenwriting courses, which is a fun but heavy load to some degree. I also was asked to return to a program where I’d spent eight years teaching comic art to 4th and 5th graders. And finally, I was invited to do a series of author visits at a school in New York City. a full schedule to say the least. This latter offer came as a result of my speaking at two annual events for the National Arts & Education Association last year.
Why did I take on all of them?
For the very reason that I said in my opening … to give back.
Just call me Obi-Wan Simmons.
So in January, I began teaching screenwriting to over 30 odd students (young and older adults) from around the world. I do that several days a week, and it has been a real pleasure. I look forward to continuing to help them find their individual voices and create their own cinematic visions.
I also enjoyed the comic art classes I’ve taught, particularly watching the youngsters discover that their imagination has substance and that they are capable of doing something more than they thought they could. And realizing that what they think can be made manifest if they support and a plan.
With some of the younger kids, since I have quite a few years on them, it’s been a ton of fun telling them about certain techniques for creating comics and films in the past and how technology has changed that in the present. Sometimes we take a look at the possibilities that promise the future.
It’s fun watching their eyes grow wide when they think of a world without computers and how we were still able to do so many things. It’s fun for me when we discover things together.
Oh, by the way, there is hope for the future. I have met them and they work.
So as the month of January closed and February begins I’m looking towards continuing with the screenwriting courses and the older crowd. I’m also looking forward to teaching adults in a foreign country how to create comic book stories possibly about social and personal issues they’re facing in their own lives.
As I said in the beginning, I’m a fortunate soul. I’ll strive never to take that for granted. And I’ll happily continue to seek #ComicsOverChaos and #PeopleOverPolitics … and #KidsOverAllElse.
Art is what art is. A tool for self-expression.
More to come.
SimmonsHereAndNow 