A Little OFF Track

This may be a little off topic, but sometimes, as an English teacher you just need to write random stuff to let some creativity out. This post won't be about teaching necessarily, but it could give me some ideas about my non-fiction unit I will be teaching soon. Be ready for the unimaginable...

Ok, you see that beautiful Christmas tree above? Yeah. I skated around it with my boyfriend during Christmas; located in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. You know the story; clear, starry skied December night, not too chilly, but just right. The lights on the tree were gorgeous golden rays of Christmas spirit and it had this ethereal feel around it. The kind of feeling you get when you are around something greater than yourself. It was perfect and romantic. That night I fell in love all over again. I wasn't sure it was possible; the timing was just perfect.

Between the ice and the skating, it seemed almost surreal how everything was in place for such a wonderful night. There were these gigantic towers of steel and glass, standing tall and proud around this circular pond of ice with its centerpiece of green and glowing lights. If you looked above, beyond the city lights, you could see the clear, bright moon and a few twinkling stars overhead. I got that warm, fuzzy feeling which ran up from my toes all the way into my fingertips. I got it again when I looked into his ever-changing green eyes. There was nothing holding me to the ground, my soul grew wings and flew toward that moon; with its silver radiance that permeated the crisp night.

I look at this picture now and think back upon the way I felt, the feel of his hand holding mine, the sound of steel skate blades upon the frozen surface, the laughter of children as they learned to stand on their own skates, and the breeze rush over my cheeks. A perfect night, one that I will remember forever.

Yes, that wasn't like my other posts, but when you think about teaching and school as much as I do, it's nice every once in awhile to just...WRITE. It's a release, and I hope to share this with my students. This is a creative non-fiction piece based on an object, but the feelings and memories it stirs within are truly original. Many others could interpret this picture to mean something else, so that's the beauty of writing, to express your individual sense of creativity. So take this challenge, look at the picture, see what it stirs up inside of you. Be the author, editor, and illustrator of your own story.