love7rising: Changing Classrooms with Light, Purpose and Love

Christine Everitt, the founder of love7rising, is a former teacher of 16 years that took a small bite of an idea and made a big impact with the creation of inspirational clothing. The Reynolds Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity is grateful to be connected with Christine and Love7rising, as both share a mission of light, love and purpose. We recently connected the dots with Christine to learn more about what inspired her to create the clothing line and her connection with RC-TLC.

“When life hands you lemons, make some lemonade! The Reynolds (Center for Teaching, Learning and Creativity) encourages teachers and learners to celebrate their light, and creativity and that is exactly what our schools need right now. A renewed sense of purpose and love,” Christine Everitt shared.

Read On! 

Q: Can you tell me a bit about yourself and how you connected the dots with The Reynolds Center?

A: The creative process of teaching has always inspired me. I will never forget the elementary education elective I took during my senior year of high school. My teacher at the time handed me a handful of colored math manipulatives and said, “play.” By the time I was a senior, I had forgotten how to play. I felt my body recoil as I completely resisted the task. Questions loomed: What if I was wrong?  What if I made a mistake? 

That moment really stuck with me and I’ve always kept the experience of the Cuisenaire Rods in my personal tool box. It reminds me that learning should be fun, playful, expressive and authentic even when you’re older. Sadly, many school environments stop inspiring self-expression and instead focus on scores, assessment and achievement. While I appreciate the education I received, I’ve also come to understand that my own creativity and self-expression became muted somewhere along the way. 

I went on to navigate college and graduate school crossing the “T’s” and dotting the “I’s”. I did all the things I thought I was supposed to do in order to become a real teacher. At some point I remember thinking, “I guess this is just how it goes,” and yet in my core, I knew something was off.

I spent 16 years teaching in various classrooms and schools. I experienced more traditional schools in Manhattan to a Holistic school here in Vermont and a few stops in between. I remember the times I felt inspired and alive in my teaching versus feeling silenced and without purpose. I noted the ways in which energy shifted in a space because the children and teachers were in unison with each other-truth and authenticity vibrating off every wall.      

Connecting the dots to The Reynolds Center was a nudge from the universe. When I read The Dot for the first time years ago, my own inner child rejoiced. Not only did I think to myself, “Where was this book when I was in 2nd grade?” but I wanted to shrink it down so I could always carry it in my back pocket. As I read more of Peter and Susan’s books, I felt a part of me relax and start to feel inspired again. Not only were these incredible messages for young learners but in truth, messages for us all and yes… we need more of this! 

COVID-19 continues to bring to the surface a lot of our own personal wounds as well as many wounds within our educational system. While there has been a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, it has also shed light on opportunities for us to shift and grow. 

Q: What motivated you to design and sell clothing?

A: When the desire to help started to grow larger and more persistent inside of me, I pictured millions of lighthouses spread across the globe leading people home to themselves. I saw the ways in which the pandemic impacted so many teachers and students, and I really wanted to bring a more focused awareness on the need for emotional health to be at the helm of all school recovery plans.

I started playing around with design ideas on a scrap piece of paper and thought… Why not! I wanted these T-shirts to be small tokens of love representing the message “you matter, your emotional health matters.”

In a way, I also wanted to bring more attention to the emotional wellness of our teachers. I know how vital it is to have the tools to take care of ourselves when we feel out of balance. Too many teachers put their emotional health on the back burner or don’t have the necessary tools to access inner peace and the pandemic has only exacerbated this. Energy is contagious and when a teacher feels ungrounded, it has a tremendous impact on the classroom and the learning that happens.

From a design perspective, I’m a sucker for the throwback Southern California vibe!  Each color represents the mission of love7rising. Purple represents journeying inward while tapping into your intuition. Pink is the act of love. Orange is finding your fire and purpose and yellow is letting your light shine out!  

Q: What has been the response to your project?

A: So many friends I speak with give me a resounding “Yes!” They’ve shared stories of how the pandemic has impacted their own children and there is definitely some deep sadness and worry there. The mental health of humanity is a real concern and if we don’t start taking care of each other, I fear what might be down the road. Our school communities are a place we can start doing this healing work so there is a glimmer of hope. If enough of us start asking for more focus on emotional wellness then we might start seeing a shift in how we treat ourselves, each other and the world at large.  

Q: How have you personally managed the pandemic?

A: I love this question because I don’t think I’ve paused long enough to give it a thought!  The short answer is miles of walking, attention to the silver lining, time for delicious food, laughing with my children and husband (sometimes I’m not sure if they’re laughing with me or at me!) and the ritual of talking to my best friend each morning at 8:30… on the dot! Oh… and writing my blog!

I’m also in the process of finishing a two year course in Clairvoyance. This continues to be supportive in many ways but mostly it validates my own intuition and my own inner light.

Q: What’s next?

A: As Glennon Doyle said, “Just do the next right thing, one thing at a time.” The beautiful symphony of emotional health and education is truly what drives me. I want to be part of the movement that slowly starts to shift the “how’s” and “why’s” of educating. For me, knowledge of “self” is vital and I’d love to see more schools and teachers choosing this road. 

I’d love to continue to share my story through my blog as well as start a podcast with my dear friend. I am a firm believer in the power of story with a side of vulnerability. Heart-to-heart flow is where the magic happens and that’s where we start to heal.

Q: How can people contact you and support your work?

A: First and foremost, as Peter so aptly wrote… Say Something! Please ask your teachers, school administrators and districts how they intend to address emotional health in the classroom moving forward. I know some schools even have “Wellness Teams” in which students and teachers have access to mindfulness practices, nutrition classes and yoga. If we put focus here, I believe the academic learning will flow with greater ease. 

Second, please feel free to check out my blog www.love7rising.com or my instagram feed @love7rising. T-shirt and sweatshirt orders can be made through my blog. The pandemic has given us a time to pause and hopefully shift and I am beyond excited to be supporting the mission of The Reynolds Center: “We are dedicated to ensuring that all learners develop of the vision, confidence, knowledge and skills needed to move their own lives forward, and to use their talents, strengths and energy to move their communities and the world to a better place.”