"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew."
Jerry Spinelli in his scholastic book StarGirl
My 7th grader came home with this book yesterday. She was excited about it and said it is about a "new" girl. The quote above was on the back cover. I wondered if my daughter likes this book so much because she understands what it is like to be the "new" girl. Even I could relate to the words on the back cover. As an officer’s kid I know what it is like to have people trying to "pin me to a corkboard like a butterfly." Come to think of it, I don’t think we have to be a “new” kid on the block to have that experience. We often try to put people in categories, neat packages or "pin" them down so we can figure them out. The hope I see is found in the end of the quote…"but the pin merely went through and away she flew."
May we all learn to live above other people's judgments.
As a pin hinders the flight and very life of a butterfly so our words and judgments can harm the flight of one's spirit.
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