2019. The physical environment is not a static backdrop to learning. It sends children messages. It sends them messages about not only the value and importance of education, but messages about the way they are valued by society. In considering the way we invest in and maintain the space of our schools, particularly within the poorest and most vulnerable communities, we must also consider what messages we want to send.  

2011. I departed for Hamburg.  Each time I must leave a city, it’s difficult.  As I travel, I meet an infinite number of marvelous people.  I develop connections and plant the seeds for potentially strong bonds and friendships, only to rip it from the ground shortly thereafter.  Before each relationship is given the chance to flourish, it must be abandoned and left behind—not because it is deserving of such abandonment, but simply out of the necessity that is my pre-conceived plans for travel pushing me ahead.  The dynamic of travel supercedes the static, leaving half-formulated friendships in limbo with unsure promises of future reunions.