Rainbow of Dreams - Class Activity
In my Language Arts class this semester we had an assignment that consisted in picking out a picture, interviewing the people who are concerned in it and then creating a story regarding the picture. I found this assignment particularly interesting, and I would definitely use it in my own classroom in the future. To give you an idea of what the story may look like here is the one I have written about late Mark Petawabano, the young man shown on the picture.
On a cold Saturday afternoon, I decided to stay indoors and enjoy the warmth of this house. This place might not be home but it sure feels like it. The people around me, I consider them family. I haven’t been around for very long, there are many things I don’t know about this place and this amazing family, but I want to know more; I feel the need to know more. So as I sit on the couch, facing this wonderful lady I decide to ask her about that picture I see hanging on the wall, or more specifically about the person in it. I know the handsome young man is her youngest son and I am scared that talking about him might bring back painful memories of his loss. I sit there waiting patiently for an answer; I notice that her expression changes, she seems to be searching for the right words. At that moment, I knew she would open up her heart to me and share some of her son’s greatest memories with me. To me, Mark Petawabano had always been this great hockey player, the guy you wanted on your team because of his ability to score amazing goals and lift up the crowd with the vibrant energy he was sending out. I soon found out that he carried this positive energy with him everywhere he was, on and off the ice.
“I don’t know where to begin, there is just so much to say, but let me start this way,” she said calmly.
Although she and I are both fully capable of choosing and using adjectives, Mark’s personality is best understood through examples of his actions.
…He went with his sister to the clinic one day because her husband could not go. The whole time, he held her hand and cried because she was in so much pain; he simply couldn’t stand seeing her that way. You could see that he would have rather felt the pain instead of seeing her go through it; his only wish was to take it away from her. Mark was that way with his entire family, he hated to see his loved ones hurt physically or emotionally, therefore he was always around to make them smile. The people around him simply couldn’t get enough; his smile had a way of making everybody feel so at peace…
Time passed but the atmosphere around us remained in a state of tranquility. A glance at the sunset made us realize we had already been discussing for quite some time.
“Would you care for some tea?” she asked.
I gladly accepted her offer; these types of conversation are easier dealt with a hot cup of tea in hand. We were now ready to continue from where we had stopped.
…The younger ones looked up to him; they wanted to be just like him. He made them feel like they mattered when others pushed them away. He wanted to show them that they were important to him. Mark’s nephews became passionate about hockey from looking up to him. At various occasions they wanted to practice and play with him and the older guys, but the young adults would never allow it, except Mark of course. In moments like those, he would simply leave his friends to go play with his nephews that he cared for so much. Somehow, I believe Mark is responsible for the spark in their eyes when they play nowadays. He never allowed them to give up on what they loved so much…
I now know that Mark Petawabano was so much more than just a hockey player, he was an incredible human being. I might have never met him, but through all the incredible stories I’ve heard I feel like a part of me knows him and I can’t help but smile when I see a picture of him. Losing him certainly was a great ordeal for the people around him to overcome, but love and faith kept this family strong and united throughout this time of hardship. He can be remembered as the great young man that he was here on Earth, and through the hope that they will one day meet him again in the wonderful kingdom of God.
So we sat like this, most of the afternoon talking about her life and her son’s memories. I had rarely felt such a connection with someone I knew so little. I wanted to know more, I wanted to know it all. The conversation eventually had to come to an end, but I knew that many more were going to come and once again she would let me inside her heart.
Marilyn Filion