"Miss Siel...How Many Shoes Do You Have?"

Last week, one of my students came to class and asked me how many pairs of shoes I owned. At the time, I thought she was teasing me and I laughed it off without answering. Then the next day she came in, looked at yet another pair of shoes on my feet and asked again. "How many shoes do you have?"

This time I took a look at the serious expression on her face and the awe in her voice. I realized this wasn't a trivial question for her. I looked down at her own feet the pair of worn-out white sneakers that she wore every single day. It hit me like a ton of bricks. While I take pride in never wearing the same shoes two days in a row, she didn't have a choice.

I decided to lean in. She didn't want me to brush it off and act like it didn't matter. To her, it really did. So I looked her in the eyes and sat down in a chair near hers. "Hmmm," I pondered. "Probably like 20 pairs. That's too many, huh?" She grinned and shook her head. "No. I wish I had 20 pairs!" I chuckled and asked her what size she wore. She told me and I said, "Wow, you're gonna have bigger feet than me because you're still growing!" We compared our feet side by side and I told her about how when I was a kid, my feet grew so much, I had to keep changing shoes and one day, they stopped and then I was able to start my collection. She told me about the basketball shoes and track shoes she wanted some day.

We spent the rest of personal reading time in this conversation. It had nothing to do with reading and she didn't get her 10 minutes of reading time in like I usually require, but the time wasn't wasted. I learned to think a bit more about how I was presenting myself.  I also learned a lot more about this student in particular and her aspirations. These little moment matter.

Movies of 2017

Although I can't believe this is true, the year of 2017 is coming to an end very soon. As I went to the theater tonight, I was thinking back to the movies I have seen this year in anticipation for awards season in a few months. So what have I liked? What have I hated? Here's a quick movies of 2017 in review according to Roxie:

The Best:

• I have to start with the movie I saw tonight, Thor: Ragnarok. I went in hoping to like it, but not expecting a lot, since I not only didn't enjoy the last two Thor movies, but haven't really liked any Avenger-esque movies like most people. I always feel like they are shallow and lack depth. Ragnarok started out ordinary for me. They changed stoic Thor into the sarcastic, goofy character that is a proven win like Iron Man and Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy and that turned me off a little.  Then, it complete turned around. It felt like an immersion into another world. It had a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings vibe rather than a hero beats villain and that's the end. It felt longer than 2 hours. That sounds like a bad thing, but to me it wasn't, as I feel many movies are half-baked and done before they really begin. 
• I came into Wind River with no expectations or real idea of what it was about, which could contribute to my love for it. It was a simple story, unlike big blockbusters, but it really hit me emotionally. It was so simple, yet it was powerful and moving. I remember thinking right after it that my Grandpa Dick would like it. I don't know why I thought that or if he would have, since he passed away shortly after I saw it, but I think maybe I attributed that to him because it had a sort of western feel. 
• For a horror movie buff like myself, Get Out couldn't have been better. It was absolutely terrifying in a completely different way. Not jump scares or demons or excessive blood, but just a all-encompassing feeling of panic and nervousness and being trapped. The social commentary in this movie was brilliant and I am glad it is getting the recognition it deserves beyond the genre of horror/thriller. 
• How could I not have Beauty and the Beast on the list? It was perfect in every way. It captured all the great things from the original and added things that were lacking or unexplained. The music was amazing. The acting was great. I just loved it. 

The Worst:

• Atomic Blonde had good reviews from the critics and I'm a fan of Charlize Theron, but I just hated it so much. It was 2 hours of mindless slashing. I mean seriously, it had to have beat a record for most dead bodies. 
• I know many will disagree with this one, but I genuinely disliked Baby Driver too. I admit it was visually creative and beautiful and had good music, but the characters felt fake and the plot went nowhere. A big disappointment for me. 
• This one would get me in real trouble with the critics. I believe it is a front runner for Best Picture actually, but sitting through Dunkirk was tortuous for me. I don't mind movies with little dialogue, but this one was so heavy on the screeching of planes and explosions that it literally made me want to leave the theater. There are probably less than 100 words said in the whole movie and I didn't even think the visuals were as amazing as everyone made them out to be. 
• Despicable Me 3 just didn't need to be made. It was not funny. It wasn't cute. I probably thought "This is stupid" at least once every 5 minutes of the movie. Movie studios just find something that audiences liked and beat it to death. 

Yet to Come: 

• One of the most anticipated movies right now is Justice League. Although I didn't put it in my "best" category, I did enjoy Wonder Woman and loved Gal Gadot in that role, so I am looking forward to this one. I just hope it doesn't turn into Suicide Squad, which I had so much hope for last year. 
• Just because I've been a Star Wars fan my whole life, I have to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi. My sister and I felt the last one in this series was pretty redundant, doing a lot more throwback to the original films than developing new plot lines, so I hope this one is a tad more original. Nothing better than a good jedi fight though.
• I am just dying to see Downsizing and I can't really explain why. I just think the concept is brilliant. Stephen King always says the best stories come from people asking the question "What if...?" and this is a great what if. I also like that the trailers don't really show any conflict, so I am not sure where the story will go. So many trailers show way too much and the actual movie gets compared to the expectations of the trailer.
• Although I don't know a whole lot about it, the things I've read about The Florida Project make me want to see it. I just saw today it is coming to the Ross and I am definitely making a point to see it while it's in town.