My first formative experiences contributing to a learning community happened online when I was around 12 years old in the early 2000s. Back then, I was a member of a private Yahoo! Group called the Pastel Club that discussed the novel customization of model horses. Although it only consisted of ten people, the group was incredibly active, and messages, tutorials, and advice were exchanged almost daily. Over time this virtual group became a haven for me, as a suburban Illinois teenager with limited access to cultural programming that matched my interests. I had friends in school, but no one else was as into customizing model horses like I was, so it was only natural I had to search to find my people.1
Today I’m a professional educator in multiple ways: I teach a class at Princeton in the spring, I publish tutorials and other learning materials online, and I run my own classes and workshops locally and globally.2 Much of my motivation is rooted in a philosophy of “giving back” to the world, as often I make work for my 12-year-old self in suburban Illinois, making work I wish she had access to. I believe creating accessible public works with an educational approach is how I best contribute to the world — it’s both deeply personal and potentially transformative for others.
“Everything around me was someone’s lifework,” says Gordon Brander. As you become an adult, you realize incredible things around you — parks, libraries, railways — didn’t just appear. Rather, they were built by people who, through gradual persistence over whole lifetimes, somehow willed them into being. “Freedom is not earned or won, it is built,” writes Evelyn Bi, describing the back and forth between appreciating and creating. She continues, “There will always be a strong emotional response when we encounter something that touches the core of who we are, but it’s important to remember that we’re only able to find ourselves in these objects’ reflections because they exist.”3
Engaging with inspiring material becomes more enlivened when we view ourselves as participants in this network, and it’s this sense of active engagement that I strive to instill in everyone I work with.
Hello Laurel
“Everything around me was someone’s lifework,” I need this reminder from time to time so thank u for sharing it.
Your thought process about the model horses, makes me think about the inner work healing I've been doing. The biggest gift we can give to ourselves and others is give what 12 year old us needed back then.
Have a lovely day <3
Akshara
Whew those quotes <3 And as a fellow once-Illinois suburban 12-year-old who also searched for inspiring cultural programming online, I love that you create the kind of work you wish you had access to back then.