Last Friday of Spring Break and Final Event: Writing Our Lives with Fairfield Warde Voices of Equity

Okay, Mucinex monsters. You moved in for longer than an overnight I am listening. I loaded up with all I could take to keep you at bay so I can arrive to Fairfield University and see all the hard work of the presenters showcased in a 12-session opportunity to the 200 young people and teachers who signed up. I'm looking forward to learning from those in several Connecticut School who have been Empowering Our Communities and Beyond.

We are very thankful to the gift made in the memory of Lisa Calderone-Perelli, a graduate of the MFA program and close friend to the Fairfield University program. This kindness, and her legacy, is what stands behind the work that will be carried out today - writing our lives, and putting our words into action.

There are several colleagues who I am looking forward to seeing again, and many more that I can't wait to meet. The buses were arranged, the breakfast snacks are set, the writers' notebooks have been assembled, the Sheppard Divas are set for their Keynote, and lunches are being prepared.

It's such a wonderful opportunity for young people to present their work - conference style - to peers across the state, especially in a National Writing Project tradition.

The brilliance of Laurie Halse Anderson and Jacqueline Woodson, matched beautifully with the screening of American Creed, to bring forward this Identity and Education Conference.

Now, if only the Mucinex Monsters would travel elsewhere for the day, so I can have all my faculties with me. It's hard to focus with a foggy brain, dripping nose and never-ending cough.

The panacea is the beauty of the middle and high school students. This is all for them. And we're off.