Stepping into the Spotlight

A teacher's job, by nature, is to help others shine.  Our job is to provide the spark, to fan the flame, but so rarely are we the fire.  And we are okay with that.  We are directors, choreographers, coaches.  We are not the stars.  We live in the background.  We are scenery.  We hold the cue cards while our work stands center stage.

But not tonight.  Tonight, one of us broke out into the spotlight.

I went to see my work brother, Greg, perform with his band, Center 313, at their sold-out concert tonight.

Greg is our award-winning choir director and whiffle ball expert by day, but not tonight. Tonight, he was a rock star.  Greg's faith has always been in the forefront of his life, and his band's intent is to spread God's message to all who will hear it.  I love this because I believe that anyone who follows his passion is leading a purposeful life.  I must admit, however, that there were moments that the message might have been lost on me because I just couldn't stop watching my friend living his dream.

But maybe that is the message I was supposed to hear -- to live unafraid, to live with joy, and to live with purpose.

His joy filled the room, and it shone brighter, and more beautifully, than any spotlight imaginable.

Well done, friend.  Well done, indeed.

Creeptastrophe

Lately, I've been obsessed with this song:



It's got such a catchy beat. Whenever it comes on the radio, I immediately have to open the sunroof, crank up the volume, and start car-dancing. Complete with hair tossing and a giant smile.

I'm sure other drivers think I'm having some sort of epileptic fit. That is until the catch the happy clap beats blaring by them.

So tonight I thought I'd share my new favorite song. And then I found out that it's like 3 years old.

And worse? This is a quote about the original music video:

Welch told the NME January 10, 2010 that the song's music video is her favorite one to date. She explained this was not only "because it was our first, but also because of the people involved. I just made it on a whim. We went down to the woods and we only had one camera. I got my dad to put a clown costume on and my friend's nephew to dress up as the baby clown while we decorated the woods. Dog walkers gave us the weirdest looks. It was really fun."

Oh, Florence. And I thought we were going to be friends. Creeptastrophe.

Here's the link to the old video. Click the link if you dare. I tried to embed it into this post but was denied. Gotta admit... kind of glad about that. (If the music doesn't play, change the setting from "360p" to "240p" at the bottom of the video screen.)

You'll need the music to distract you from your own terror.