For some of us, one of life’s more curious mysteries must be why we have been born into a particular family, which eventually compels us to decipher how our upbringing seems to have influenced us, like it or not. Rural or urban. Many siblings, none. Rooted or nomadic. Single parent, rich or poor, happy or troubled, funny or serious. Once we have grown up and emerged out of this myopic existence, we then create our own life as a separate individual, noticing sometimes with amazement how we still carry around our past. If our upbringing plays an important role in our lives then our education will also be important in how we became educated. Was our education directed towards particular areas of learning? Did our parents give us music lessons and let us choose to play a particular instrument? Did we take dance lessons or visit art museums many times? What were the things that are parents exposed us to… for enrichment? Bird walks, getting a puppy-dog at a rescue shelter and learning to take care of this animal. Were skating, skiing or singing in church or school choir activities we enjoyed? Going to professional plays in large cities or did we like to be in school plays? As we grow up we decide if what we did when we were younger are still important to us. Yes, sometimes we continue to do many things our families introduced us to when we were growing up. Maybe the arts were part of what we grew up to enjoy. The question is “Do we still enjoy seeing art exhibits, or a play and create our own paintings or sculptor?”
For more information contact Jaylene Armstrong, retired art educator from Madison, Wisconsin at 661-255-3050.