So I pulled up to Career Day at FairHaven Elementary like a knockoff art teacher who snuck in with a backpack full of dreams and vinyl stickers. My wife came too because let’s be honest, I need adult supervision, and together we tried to inspire some kids without accidentally traumatizing them.
We brought stickers. So many stickers. You’d think we were handing out PS5s the way those kids lit up. My wife was out here doing crowd control while I was trying to explain that I run an art studio and no, I don’t live in a paint-splattered van (anymore).
I told them real stuff too—about how I grew up with instability, changed schools constantly, and how art was my way of making sense of all the chaos. I didn’t sugarcoat it. I told them that life will make you adapt, pivot, evolve… and that’s not weakness, that’s power. I said, “Art isn’t about being perfect. It’s about expressing what the hell you’re going through, even if it looks like a glitter accident.”
Some kids giggled. Some nodded like they felt that. One kid whispered to my wife, “I wanna do what he does.” And that moment alone? Worth it.
We left covered in stickers, full of hope, and slightly dehydrated because kids have infinite energy. Fairhaven Elementary, you were beautiful chaos. Thanks for letting us be part of it.
Stay expressive. Stay weird. Stay passing out stickers like candy.