May 20, 2018 I HOPE YOU DANCE

  Nursery school--8th grade--high school--and now COLLEGE. GRADUATIONS.  Each one--a stepping stone. One chapter ends to make way for the next part of the journey. Graduations are fun but a little scary because they signal--CHANGE. It's not such a big deal when its NURSERY school but COLLEGE is different. It's time to make decisions--choices that will determine the future. BASICALLY--it's time to GROW UP and take responsibility.  AND WHO WANTS TO DO THAT?? NOT ME--that's why I teach HIGH SCHOOL!!  Seriously--Congratulations to ALL the graduates out there. Don't worry--YOU WILL FIND YOUR WAY. YOU WILL DO WONDERFUL THINGS AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE. YOU HAVE THE TOOLS--SO THINK BIG. IT'S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE YOU--Oh! The Places You'll Go. I can hardly wait.

 Li-yan the main character in Lisa See's wonderful novel The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane had to sacrifice more than most in order to further her education. Li-yan and her family lived in a remote mountain village in China. Their lives revolved  around farming tea and upholding the traditions of the Akha people where women were dominated by  men and had zero power. Li-yan, however, questioned her family's traditions; especially, after her family forbade her from marrying her love, San-pa, because he was born in the month of the tiger. Unfortunately for Li-yan,  she became pregnant and was forced to give her baby away or be killed as dictated by their customs. Li-yan eventually left the Akha for an education--studying the tea that shaped her family for generations. She also longed to find her daughter,  adopted by a wealthy family in California. Find out about Li-yan's life in China and her struggles when you read this beautifully written book for yourself. It's about 350 pages--4.5 mile run--that will stay with you forever.