Explore The Possibilities: An Inspiring Tale of Jumping In

Last Friday, my husband, Mike, was one of the featured musicians at the Potsdam Summerfest on the second stage. He played seven of his original songs in the middle of Market Street for thirty minutes.

Photo Credit: Dustina Hooper

This major accomplishment is extraordinary for a few reasons:

• Mike is a self-taught musician who bought his first guitar at the BX when he was stationed in England in the mid-80s. Always an avid fan of music, he purchased records as a teen and young adult, and devoured and memorized all of the info on the album covers.
• He began playing seriously just a few years ago at 56, starting with mostly Jethro Tull covers and performing his first open mic in May 2022.
• Three years ago, he wrote his first song and began performing at more open mics locally and in the Adirondacks.
• Having written seventy songs to date, he spends hours practicing each week.
• Over the past six months, in addition to the Potsdam Summer Fest Gig, he has had several opportunities to showcase his talents and sometimes be paid, including playing for GardenShare at three local farmers’ markets three different times this summer through a NYS Arts regrant Program. He was off to Plattsburgh this weekend to play in another music festival.

Mike’s musical journey exemplifies how pursuing personal passions is enabled by a dedication to lifelong, self-directed learning. It also speaks to my belief that we are each constantly evolving into our authentic selves.
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To this point, some folx are always in motion—going from one project, one passion, one triumph to the next—plowing through obstacles and learning from their mistakes. Others struggle to find their purpose until it is revealed mysteriously, when they least expect it. And finally, it is important to note that only a rare few seem to know their destiny seemingly from the day they were born.

Not very many of us are even remotely close to where we thought we would be when we envisioned our lives at 18. Our life stories tell tales of major plot twists as we make decisions based on new circumstances we encounter throughout our lives. I mean, I could never have imagined that at the age of 36, a mother of two small children, I would go back to college (to study Anthropology of all things), at 48 I would quit my job of ten years that I thought I wouldn’t leave until I was a ripe old age, and having been that shy, awkward, clueless, and terrified 18 year old, it is utterly crazy that at the age of 49, I founded and now direct Deep Root Center, a not-for-profit self-directed learning center, but here we are—eleven years later at the age of 60, still going strong with a deeper understanding of my own neurospiciness.

This is why I spend my days encouraging youth to explore all the possibilities, starting with their interests. With our support, they can discover whole new worlds that they had no idea existed.

Young people should not feel like they need to commit to one path forward for the remainder of their lives. It makes me a little sad to hear a teen agonizing over certain decisions, as if they don’t choose one thing, it is lost to them forever. The world is wide open, and they should feel free to jump in, take some chances, follow their passion (whatever it is in the moment), get messy, make mistakes, and find their joy. There is absolutely no need to stagnate your growth potential for fear of judgment or failure.

DRC News

​I have been busy planning fun carnival style games for this event. There will also be a creativity center set up with an abundance of supplies for anyone to make cool art. And we will have a playzone with toys of all kinds. Save the date and bring the whole family. 

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