One of Elysha’s favorite things is when I take a card for an entirely inappropriate occasion and transform it to fit the occasion at hand.
A “Condolences on the death of your pet” becomes a birthday card.
A housewarming card becomes a “Congratulation on the birth of your daughter” card.
A “Congratulations on your new job” card becomes a “Get well soon” card.
I’ve been doing this for a long time. Even as a kid, I transformed cards for family, friends, and girlfriends. Part of it was born from desperation:
I needed a card for a particular occasion, but I didn’t have one. I could make a card, or I could instead transform one that we already had lying around the house.
Transforming seemed a lot easier and more amusing.
It was also the result of my burning need to create new things combined with a relentless desire to avoid conformity at all costs.
I share this idea with my students every year, showing them some of these transformations before sticking them into envelopes and sending them away. My hope is to show my students that things don’t always need to be as they were originally intended. The world is a black canvas if you’re willing to change how you see it and explore the possibilities of your imagination:
New paths. Original solutions. Novel alternatives to the status quo.
This is why I was so thrilled when one of my students gave me a Valentine’s Day card that she had completely and brilliantly transformed for the occasion.
Instead of:
“Happy Valentine’s Day! I have a giant crush on you!”
… she transformed the card to read:
“Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope the giant crushing feeling in your lungs is gone.”
She’s referencing my recent bout with pneumonia, which I am close to conquering.
She turned a Valentine’s Day card into a very specific “Get well” card.
She also made her teacher very happy.
