When I meet someone I don’t know, I make it a point to not ask them “what they do” I like to see how long it takes before they bring it up themselves, or ask me. I want to find out if their job is something they are proud of, or something they define themselves with, or “just a job.” I teach art at Siena Heights University. I have to say that it is the most “defining” job that I have ever had. My getting here has taken me from wanting to be a rock star to going through seminary, from owning a recording studio to being an art director. But where I am now is exactly what I would choose to be doing if I could do anything I want.  (And I could be doing anything I want, just like all of us could be if we chose to.)

I like to learn things. I am stubbornly resistant to not knowing something. I like to be inspired. I am constantly amazed at how many people and small things around me inspire me. I like to be alone. I look forward everyday to seeing a studio full of young artists and talking about what they are doing. I love making music more that I like making art. I love being around art more than I like listening to music. I was adopted. I have two graduate degrees. I have two children and a grand daughter. I have been compassionate and desperately hurtful, unloving and full of encouragement. I see my inner contradictions and often spend all my emotions trying to synthesize them into something that makes sense to me. I want to to know who God is, I want to feel redemption with a desire that can only come from a heart that has sat comfortably with it’s own wickedness, and I want to somehow find the capability to love.

So, what’s your story?