A new and Inspiring creative site: You, Me, and Charlie

I am about to leave for an interview at the Al Raby School for Community and Development for a part-time AVID tutoring position so I'll keep this brief. I'm excited to be interviewing at Al Raby because that's the school where I spent three amazing months student teaching earlier this year. I haven't been back since May and am looking forward to reconnecting with some of the amazing teachers and students I got to work with there. Al Raby is located in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. It's a tough place to grow up and go to school, but the kids I met there were incredible. I never thought teaching British Literature to four classes of high school seniors would be nearly so inspiring. Boy, was I surprised and truly heartened! I'll let you know how the interview goes...

What I really want to write about is a cool and--again--inspiring website I discovered this morning. You, Me, and Charlie www.youmeandcharlie.com was created by actress Dianna Agron. Ms. Agron, as many of you probably know, plays Quinn the former pregnant cheerleader, on Fox TV's hit show "Glee." The site is designed as a forum for creative types in any genre to share their thoughts, their projects (whether it be poetry, photography, short stories, etc), music and movie reviews, etc. The content is uplifting and, as Dianna writes on the home page introduction:

 Without the arts I would not wake up each morning with the joie de vivre that encompasses my entire being. I would feel flat as a pancake. Because of the work I do, I get to hear some of the most moving stories, moments of your life…things I am grateful to hear from you, share with you. It blows my mind, each and every time. To know that the show I’m on helps so many people get through hard moments in their life? To hear that people like seeing what I’m going to post and often discover new artists? I never could have dreamed how lucky I would be, as I am, today. I want you to join me now. Let’s share this space as an art collective. There’s enough negativity in this world to smother all of us into a state of infinite sadness. Why not counter that? That’s what this site is for. I hope it just does that.

I love the mission behind the site and will be returning to it frequently to be inspired and to take heart in the fact that despite all the crappy stuff that greets us in the news every day, there are people out there who still can find good and take inspiration from each other. That's what the arts are all about--to inspire, to move, to create, and in doing so, perhaps change the world. So a big shout-out to you, Ms. Agron, and to everyone young and old who contributes to the site. I am a fan!

Sorry if I sound a little new-agey today, but you, me, and Charlie really made me feel good. Now off to my interview...

Ciao.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: "How can the arts be used toward the betterment of the world?"