Rachel Katz

WOW project

When I was sixteen, I wrote an entry about knitting in my marble journal at The Mountain School*:

“Is knitting worthwhile at all?” I mused. “A hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, who is

going to remember knitting? Who is going to care what I knit?”

“On the other hand,” I wrote, “I am making this hat for my friend. And that’s nice. But I guess it doesn’t mean

much in the long run.”

* Read about this journal in my application

Jack, my beloved English teacher who read each journal entry during that transformative semester, wrote a note

on the page following my comment about knitting:

“Clearly, being recorded is not an adequate parameter for activity. The ‘little nameless acts of kindness and of love’ are almost never recorded, but most do agree that they are the best portion of a good life. Einstein, Castro, and Churchill have all said so…and they have had some

pretty good print going for them.”

Knitting for others is one of my favorite acts of kindness. It is rewarding to imagine what my friends and family might like and to spend the time to create it. I have also found knitting to be at various times therapeutic, social, and creative. Thanks to Jack for helping me see the

immense value in all of these things.

So, for this WOW project I wanted to knit something about me.

I chose to knit a hat that represents my mind when it is at its best, the type of mind I have on good wake-up days*

Each layer of the hat shows a different element of life that energizes me, fuels my ideas, and makes me feel

empowered to change the world.

* Read about good wake-up days in my application

Rachel’s Mind Garden Hat

Rachel’s Mind Garden Hat

1. Nature is fundamental to my peace of mind. The more time I spend in nature, the more calm and inspired I feel.

2. Play and exercise – without them my brain becomes mushy and boring.

3. Exploration of new places stimulates me (like hitchhiking across China on trucks).

4. I love finding solutions to problems, particularly that moment when you feel like you have unlocked something important.

5. Connecting with other people, and also many different kinds of people, is the activity I find most rewarding.

With all of these things as fertilizer, ideas can blossom in my mind garden!

This is a Sandbox sun nurturing the garden

I hope to join you in Sandbox

soon!