Avery - November '17
“OK, friend”, twelve-year-old Avery answered when I asked him if he would like to join the teens for the weekly psychology class. This particular reply is just one of his many off-beat responses. I have known Avery since last January when he blew me away with his immense cache of accumulated knowledge. He comprehends concepts in the scientific, meta-physical, and philosophical worlds (including the pertinent vocabulary), that most adults struggle to understand, on a profound level. He is one of those kids that has so many interests that he often has a tough time deciding what to focus on any given day. |
Music is Avery’s one consuming passion – but the relationship is complex. Avery is a natural musician; however, he has no desire to learn the notes or chords. He loves picking up the electric guitar and jamming random riffs from heavy metal classics and alternative and experimental rock; he has even created a couple of songs. He also spends hours talking about new bands and different types of music with Chris, the DRC Music Director.
Avery also has a complicated relationship with art. He is a talented artist who dislikes everything he draws. In the past, he taught an art class for the Seedlings. For a while, he drew robots and had a story for each of the drawings. He currently designs beautifully random and intricate patterns.
Avery wants to create videos for a YouTube channel using puppets as the main characters. He has the entire series mapped out in his head, but has not yet begun the project. He also told me the other day that he wants to initiate a film class and make music videos. Luckily, the library has a green screen we can borrow whenever he is ready.
As you can probably tell, he is another kid who appreciates the process, whether brainstorming ideas or sketching out the beginnings of a scheme, more than a completed product, therefore his half-finished plans litter the Center, never to be worked on again.
Avery’s intellectual prowess leads him to delve into topics that one would assume are inaccessible or at the very least inappropriate for his age, which often creates the impression that he is intentionally provocative. He likes nothing more than to instigate intense discussions about subjects that interest or even worry him.
Fortunately for Avery and happily for the rest of us, he is able to spend his days at DRC feeding his desire to be a kid playing imaginary games and building Legos with the Seedlings, making everyone laugh with his silly antics, and imagining creative ventures in art and music, all while challenging himself and others with emotionally and intellectually charged conversations.
Avery also has a complicated relationship with art. He is a talented artist who dislikes everything he draws. In the past, he taught an art class for the Seedlings. For a while, he drew robots and had a story for each of the drawings. He currently designs beautifully random and intricate patterns.
Avery wants to create videos for a YouTube channel using puppets as the main characters. He has the entire series mapped out in his head, but has not yet begun the project. He also told me the other day that he wants to initiate a film class and make music videos. Luckily, the library has a green screen we can borrow whenever he is ready.
As you can probably tell, he is another kid who appreciates the process, whether brainstorming ideas or sketching out the beginnings of a scheme, more than a completed product, therefore his half-finished plans litter the Center, never to be worked on again.
Avery’s intellectual prowess leads him to delve into topics that one would assume are inaccessible or at the very least inappropriate for his age, which often creates the impression that he is intentionally provocative. He likes nothing more than to instigate intense discussions about subjects that interest or even worry him.
Fortunately for Avery and happily for the rest of us, he is able to spend his days at DRC feeding his desire to be a kid playing imaginary games and building Legos with the Seedlings, making everyone laugh with his silly antics, and imagining creative ventures in art and music, all while challenging himself and others with emotionally and intellectually charged conversations.