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I’ve been an educator for 25 years.The first day of school has always been important—Always special.Always something to celebrate. But 17 of those 25 years carried a different kind of weight.Because for 17 years, I got to share that first… more ›
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Ahhh, sweet slumber. The kind where your body finally stops twitching from yesterday’s chores and the blanket has molded perfectly to your shape. I’m out cold, dreaming of nothing, floating in pure bliss. Then it begins. A faint sound. Far… more ›
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A funny reflection about my reflection. We all have that voice in our heads—the one we consult when making decisions, psyching ourselves up, or talking ourselves out of regrettable choices. Sometimes it’s calm, sometimes it’s nagging, and sometimes it’s downright… more ›
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Food has a way of doing what nothing else can: it gathers us, roots us, and reminds us who we are. In our family, meals were never just about eating. They were the soundtrack of our childhood, the punctuation marks… more ›
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It’s been almost a year since she left us, and some days it still feels like the world paused in that moment. I remember the quiet that filled the house afterward, a silence so deep it pressed against my chest.… more ›
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There was a time when the only thing that mattered was whether you could catch the ball. The sun burned hot on your back, the grass smelled like summer and sweat, and the popsicle you dropped three minutes ago was… more ›
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Ahhhh… the first day of school. The crown jewel of the academic year. And this time, it comes after professional learning. Two glorious, soul-crushing days where you learned… well, you’re still not entirely sure what you learned. Icebreakers, slide decks,… more ›
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When you hear “summer camp,” you might picture kids whisked away in vans, lugging haphazardly packed duffel bags, shipped off to some far-flung campground for a summer of “character building” and kumbaya bonding. Well… yeah—if you’ve watched enough movies, that’s… more ›
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Growing up, summer in Calexico had its own soundtrack—somewhere a screen door slammed, a dog barked three streets over, and a radio played Ramón Ayala so faintly you couldn’t tell if it was next door or two blocks over. The… more ›
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Mornings during the school year were something of a production for me. I wasn’t exactly a morning curmudgeon, but I wouldn’t have called myself a ray of sunshine either. My brain tended to boot up about ten minutes before my… more ›
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An Over-Caffeinated Reflection on the Hustle Culture Buzz We live in a world brewed for speed—where every second counts and productivity is the ultimate pick-me-up. Like espresso shots in a sea of decaf days, we chase the next caffeine hit,… more ›
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(Walks on stage holding a coffee mug like it’s a trophy. Sip. Slow nod.) You can tell a lot about a school… by looking at the snack table.Forget the mission statement. Forget the district vision board.Show me the muffins and… more ›
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Photography is weird. You’ve got the people who treat their cameras like they’re nuclear launch codes—checking every dial, obsessing over ISO like it’s some secret recipe. Then there are those who swear the perfect golden hour is the only time… more ›
Mariano Velez
INKBLOTZ 