I like to walk the halls at night. Because in the brilliantly illuminated reality of the day you see what you’re suppose to see and hear what you’re suppose to hear, but it is at night that life gives up it’s secrets. The dreams emerge from the shadows and if you listen closely you hear the echoes of whispered hopes and dreams. A lot of life has taken place within these walls, the ups and downs, the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, waiting to be discovered for those willing to look. That is how I see myself sometimes, as a caretaker and chronicler of these memories perhaps the last one to see them before they fade from existence.
After I put this picture up here and looked at it I realize that it is a metaphor for life. It always seems so simple, just go towards the light but we are afraid of the things along our path, waiting in the shadows to jump out at us. We would rather stay where we feel safe and soon we lose sight of our goal. That is another reason I like this job is being around the kids. They haven’t developed the same amount of fears as I have and are willing to take the chances necessary to reach their goals. It’s not always the students getting the education.
I know this seems contradictory, first I see hope in the shadows then fear, but really it’s not. Fear is just hope unrecognized.
Mike McPeek 