When Gary Nicholson, conductor of the Colorado Springs Youth Symphony, first announced what our major project would be for the second semester, I admit that I wasn’t overly thrilled with playing the Shostakovich Fifth Symphony. At the time, I viewed the composer as one who drifted in limbo between the romantic era of classical music. […]
The Shostakovich Fifth: Revealing the USSR Read More »
“After babyhood self-improvement becomes a private matter. Physical, mental, or moral, please attend to it where I can’t see you if you care to avoid my disgust. Public primping with a vanity glass is not the worst of it, though bad enough.” –Robert Frost
Robert Frost on Public Primping with a Vanity Glass Read More »
It was four years ago when, for the first time, wildflowers stepped into my world. My husband Sevan and I took our boys fishing at Eleven Mile Reservoir. My mind and heart were burdened with anxiety on the drive. Staring blankly out of the car’s window, I was questioning whether my husband and I were
I awoke to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. My dad opened my door, gave his signature three knocks, and told me to get ready. It was my first day bowhunting. We departed at about 4:30 a.m. and drove to a spot near Divide, Colorado. I remember sitting in the truck, shaking from
Bull. . . bull. . . . Read More »
As I write this, I have thirty-three essays needing grading. They’re just sitting there, waiting for me to open, read, and assess them. Like Schrödinger’s cat, these essays may well be both brilliant and underwhelming, but I won’t know until I open them and discover the truth. If you’ve never graded an essay—really graded one—thirty-three
Grading and Procrastination Read More »
Your diet largely determines your feelings and behavior. The gut’s ecosystem of bacteria is often called the “second brain” because it’s so intricately connected to mental activity and health. In fact, the vast neural network in our guts communicates mainly with these bacteria. This communication in turn influences the brain through multiple mechanisms. What we
Your Gut Decides How You Will Think and Feel Read More »