Share Your Story

It's the time of year that I like to reflect; and think about my goals and all that has transpired throughout the course of a year. It was this time in 2016 when I made a commitment to blog writing. I had been chatting with one of my EDUtribes on Voxer and began to share how I wanted to start blog writing, but was struggling. My focus had been on the wrong things. I was so caught up with being eloquent, articulate, and profound that I was missing the point. Too much time was spent worrying about what other people would think, when my main focus should be reflecting on the things I was experiencing and learning in my educational journey.

As I shared my struggle, my friend Brent Catlett, encouraged me with some advice he had just been given. He said, "look at blog writing as documenting versus trying to create this fabulous thing that you're worried about getting shared." I really appreciated his perspective and decided to take a leap; I set a goal to blog once every two weeks in the upcoming year. It was a reach, but I was inspired and ready to give it a shot.

​As I began to blog, I shared my posts with my Voxer group first and then would build up the courage to share with the world. It was scary, but so rewarding when I did. I found that the more I wrote, the more it began to flow and even became something that I craved. I couldn't wait for time to be alone and put my thoughts into words on a page. It became therapeutic and no longer felt lik goal, but a release; an avenue for reflecting on my teaching, experiences, and my student's learning. I started realizing that writing wasn't about putting the perfect words on a page, but about sharing my heart and my passion for education. I began to love it. There were months that I wrote up to 6 posts, and one that I had zero. There were some weeks when the writing flowed, and others that it didn't. There are some days that I feel confident in my writing, and others when I feel less so and share my post with a friend before releasing into the world. It's all part of the journey. However, when I counted my posts up tonight I realized that from the day I made my commitment I have written 43 including this one! That's a post every 8 1/2 days on average! I not only met my goal, I crushed it!

​As I scroll through my posts of 2017, I am teary. What an amazing year! I've had the most incredible experiences, met the most amazing people, and learned so much about myself. I have become a better teacher and leader by reflecting deeply on my practice and taking on new challenges. As I've shared my heart through my writing, I have become courageous. I had no idea how much it would feed my soul or that I would grow to love it so much that it would become a passion. In fact, it has allowed me to pursue dreams that I never would have imagined to be possible.

I am grateful to everyone who has encouraged me in my writing journey this past year. Each kind word gave me courage to share another piece of my heart with you all. When I look towards 2018 I am so excited about the dreams that lie ahead; so many opportunities to share my heart and my passion and continue writing my story. Tonight as I was watching the voice Jennifer Hudson summed up my final thoughts perfectly, "No one can take away your dreams or your talent. Do it because you love it. Not because of the attention, praise or accolades, but because you love it." Share your Story.

Special shout outs:
My Miami Device Tribe: Brent Catlett, Rodney Turner, Craig Badura, Jenny Ash, Michael Matera, Mike Jaber, Richard Wells for all of your encouragement and friendship.

Dave and Shelley Burgess for believing in me. I am incredibly humbled and honored to write for you and be welcomed into the DBC family.

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