A Frog in a Sombrero Does Not a Party Make

Dear Matt Smith,

I wish I had some pithy, succinct things to write regarding the past week. As it stands, I'm in Oshkosh, Wisconsin -- home of overalls, coveralls, and anything else that ends in -alls -- teaching children about self-control.

Self-control is truly one of my least favorite lessons to teach, especially to children of the "small" persuasion. I feel like I'm stifling them. No, no. Scratch that. I feel like SOMEONE is stifling them. When they give me answers like "don't interrupt adults when they're speaking" or "do what your parents tell you to do" to the question "How can you use your self-control?" I just want to hug them... or yell at them... or teach them an improv class. I don't know. Kids are supposed to be kids.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind that they tell me that interrupting is a lack of self-control. It's the "adult" tag that gets me. You're not really supposed to interrupt anyone (unless you're having an emergency and your arm is falling off or something) in life.

Adults have this skewed view of their importance.

I mean, seriously. Get over yourselves. You're just taller than them. (Who do you think you're fooling?)

Okay. So I lied. I DO have pith.

In other pith-related news, this month's been the "what-do-you-want-to-do-when-you-grow-up" month for me. I just got word that my contract has been extended to May 3. Which really means that I'll be in Minnesota til after May 7, what with all the end-of-year celebrations (can you say "CLIMB PROM?!") and packing craziness. Maybe I can solicit some help with those things and I'll be home ON May 7. Anyway, hopefully, I'll figure a way to get my foot in the door of educational theatre administration and I won't have to kill myself paying for rent... which seems to be the answer to the above question these days. ("What do you want to do when you leave here, Meredith?" "Figure out a way to pay my rent." Sigh.)

Fun side note: I'm in this coffee shop now, right? And there are these two girls doing... something. And they're sitting around doing their something and they're complaining about the cold. Um. It's the Midwest? It's SUPPOSED to be cold? Uh, and you're wearing t-shirts. Temperature is not a state of mind, people. It's a reality. Wake up and smell the wind chill. Put some clothes on.

But what I'd really like to do with the rest of my life is to inspire children to be themselves. So much of childhood gets stepped upon by the public education system; children are literally afraid to be who they are. Children learn how to express themselves by being exposed to theatre. Theatre helps them put their thoughts into words. They become better, more ardent communicators. They're not afraid to just BE. I constantly think that if I'd had a theatre class everyday -- or even once a week! -- when I was younger, I wouldn't be as bottled up as I am today.

So there's my long-range goal. To get theatre into every child's education. It's a big, hairy, audacious goal (as CLIMB would say), but it's a goal all the same.

Here's where I count my blessings that I'm only 22.

Love,
Meredith