KOA center of hope...

I will write these in segments, as this is a life project of mine.
I want to open a center, a place that is built from love, hope and experience.
I want to utilize my design background and my experience with Autism to build a center that people can go to and spend the day, or an hour and walk out feeling better about life.
A place for support, and a place for education and resources.

My inspiration: Kannon and my father
My concept: A wishing well
My vision: A building built around a huge "wishing well" integrating the indoors/outdoors, gardens, play areas, therapy center and library.
My goal: To educate, inspire and instill hope within the soul.


Imagine the sound of nature around you...water, wind, trees rustling, sun shining...
You are in a beautiful roof top garden surrounded by the sounds of children, laughter, and in the center of it all there is a beautiful wishing well of sorts...it may look like a pond to some, and to others maybe a large calm pool of water.
You hold on your hand a small pebble/marble that is giving to you as a gift for visiting the center of hope...it is a symbol of anything your soul wants it to become.
You use it as your wish token, you can throw it into the well as a wish for yourself, for someone else, or simply as a show of support for the greater cause.
You can wish for whatever you want...as with "wishing wells" they can be a magical symbol for the soul.
They carry so much meaning to me, to my soul. I love how simple they are in concept, and how powerful they really can be if you allow the magic in.

Then picture being inside of this building...you are looking at a large aquarium like sculpture that is floor to ceiling, and you have no idea where the top of it is...you can see the sun light shining through to the bottom though.
You see a pebble floating down through the tank...slowly placing itself wherever it falls.

THIS is my goal.
Once someone visits this place of love, hope, support they will KNOW they are not alone.
They will KNOW that someone else cares and hopes for better things like they do.

By watching this pebble fall into the well, they know someone up top in the gardens above threw it into the wishing well... hoping, wishing, for wonderful things.
I know if I was there I would just stand at the bottom of the well and watch all the pebbles fall into the well and just cry....it would mean what I wanted validation for for so many years now.


So, this is part 1 of many entries to come in regards to a future goal I have.
A place I have dreamt about for years and have built in my mind.
A place that would encompass years of tears, creativity and soul searching.
A place that all humans can relate to whether they know Autism or not.

The KOA center of hope.

peace:)