Taking Stock

I had to take a break from the weekly #edublogsclub challenge in order to attend to some family matters while also wrapping up the school year.  It got a little nuts. And though I have never been particularly good about blogging in the past, I found that for the past few months, the need to blog was always there.  They say that it takes 21 days to form a habit and while I was not posting EVERY week, I was posting consistently so it would appear that I have moved closer to forming a habit than I realized.  And not being able to blog for a while really solidified that fact for me. Thus, it seems appropriate that my first post back should be an opportunity to take stock of the experience thus far and identify some goals for the rest of the blogging year.

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What have I learned so far?

Despite the fact that I have never had much confidence in my ability to blog, I have found that I no longer really care if I what I write is "good" or not.  The process of blogging has become meaningful to ME.  Essentially, I am journaling in a public forum.  Instead of keeping my journal under the mattress or in a drawer,  I am journaling digitally. Along the way, some of my thoughts might resonate with others, as I found other blogs do with me.  That is a positive result of this  digital age.  You truly aren't alone.  And your questions and ideas and musings do speak to other people.  When I was 12, I sometimes thought that I was the only girl in the world feeling the way that I did.  Years later, I know that my insecurities are misplaced.  There is a world of people out there and with just a little effort, I can find a "tribe", an answer, a new idea. That is extremely comforting. So if you are wondering "what do I have to share?",  just start writing and you will see how much your voice is needed and matters in the global dialogue.

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What will I do next?

As the summer winds down and the school year ramps up, I am looking forward to returning to a regular practice of blogging.  I also plan to go back and respond to some of the earlier #edublogger prompts that really speak to me. I am also thinking about creating a blogging challenge of sorts for our faculty this year.  Reflection is so important for all of us no matter our career, so I hope to encourage the faculty to reflect in different ways this year.

The last few months have shown me how much I value the opportunity to reflect and I am not only excited to get back at it, but also to find ways to encourage others to do the same.