Stephanie calls it, “A Multi-Colored Day.”

February 11, 2009

I was wearing a shirt that went over my knees and my oldest jeans. We spread the huge piece of banner paper on the grass. Alex carried the box of brushes and Carlos the paint. Yes, we were working on the “Dreamer’s Mural.” This lengthy paper would run across the walls of the dreamer’s room, classroom # 26. Carlos prompted us to get started but nobody really moved. He opened the pink paint and put some on a cup. I exclaimed, “Pink!” and he asked, “Who’s first?” And I got closer to him to get a swatch of pink on my paintbrush, but instead he put a streak of pink on my face. I jumped back and screamed, “Carlos!” This was the beginning of a colorful fight of paints which involved everyone. Violet, green, brown, yellow, orange, etc. were everywhere.

A lot of kids splattered paint with their brushes all over. Kids painted trees, people, stars, etc. There was one drawing that stood out the most to me, and it was a picture of a man with insane hair. Under the picture it read: “Get Crazy,” one of the Phillis Wheatley kids had drawn it. I painted a beautiful purple flower which transformed into a butterfly. My kid, Keyalah wrote a quote about the dreamers themselves. Armando decided to draw a portrait of me, he was pretty accurate. Nathan decorated the mural with his handprints. He kept on mixing ever color onto his hands. He added all of these bright colors, and I found it interesting how in the end they all led to a messy black. Nathan had paint all over himself and so did I .While some people chose to maintain themselves clean, everyone saw me as an easy target… The kids, the college students, and even the teachers. I was a walking rainbow.

-Stephanie Bechara