Although my mother is Catholic and my father is Muslim, my religious views as a child were predominantly based on Islam. For many of you who may not know, Muslims do not celebrate Halloween. Growing up at the Jewish Community Center didn't necessarily help matters, but because I attended school there at such a young age and I was so unaware it didn't hurt either.
I remember the day like it was yesterday. Pre-K. It was Purim Carnival which is basically by my view Halloween for Jews. All the kids dress up in costumes, parade around the school, play games, win gelt, eat Hebrew nationals, challa, hamantaschens etc. Obviously either my parents were unaware that I needed a costume, or clearly just wanted me to be the little Arab girl outcast I already was. So typically I got to school and began to make a scene by crying in the corner because I didn't have a costume. Eventually someone had to deal with me, so Mr. Stook came over and asked me why I was crying. I explained to him that my life was basically over with because I had no costume, and there was no chance of my parents bringing me one because I didn't even own one to begin with. He looked me in the eyes and said "What do you want to be Celine?" As if there were any other option I told him I wanted to be Queen Frostine from the Candyland Board game. First he looked at me like: little girl that sh*t aint happenin, and then he said "Ok we're gonna make this".
You know those tall 4 foot rolls of paper that a lot of elementary teachers use for arts and crafts? Well that is what my costume was made out of. Straight up to this day I don't know how he did it, but he made me a Queen Frostine dress out of construction paper. I loved the costume so much that I literally believed I was the queen. I paraded around the JCC so proud, flaunting my paper dress. I was basically untouchable and clearly had the best costume of them all.
I never forgot that day, and I don't think I ever will. As I got older I became a little more crafty with my costumes, and even my everyday outfits. Fashion is something that I've developed a love for and has become a huge part of my life. I'm not going to say that Mr. Stook was my main influence for this, but it was a small effort that he gave as a teacher that allowed me to open up my eyes and see that memories like these don't have to be store bought (they can just be funded by the JCC). But in all seriousness, I think it's rare to come across a teacher or professor as dedicated to their job as Mr. Stook was. Mr. Stook was such an amazing person, even at such a young age I could tell that he really enjoyed what he was doing. I was so influenced by my teachers and counselors at the JCC that I always promised myself to be able to have that experience when I became older. Sure enough I got a job as a counselor for the after school program which allowed me to work with kids from kindergarten to middle school.
One of the greatest feelings in the world is running into one of your teachers years after you had them, and seeing the look on their faces as if they almost didn't recognize you. If you had the same kind of relationship I did with most of my teachers, it's comforting in a way. If you think about it your teachers have spent a good amount of time with you throughout your childhood, and the fact that they can recognize who you are years later and remember how much of a trouble maker you used to be, it's just nice. So I made sure to go back and visit my elementary school, my middle school (definitely not my high school), and of course my preschool. After my visits, I was sad to discover that Mr. Stook had moved to California with his partner shortly after my preschool year. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see him my post paper dress glory. A little later I was informed that Mr. Stook had passed away in late 2000.
I couldn't help but think what an awful loss this was, and how upset I was that I'd never get the chance to see him again. But then I realized how lucky I was to be given the opportunity to have such an amazing person in my life. Mr. Stook LOVED his job, he was so enthusiastic, and energetic. He loved kids and I really believe he would have done anything for us.
Looking back on my childhood, there have been a lot of teachers that have contributed to some of my greatest memories. A lot of the time we don't realize it, but it's just the littlest effort that can make the biggest impact.
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