Slice of Life: March 22 -- What I've Learned by Slicing

I must admit that I'm starting to lose a little steam with my blogging. As I look back on my posts, I recognize the moments of true inspiration and the moments when I was clearly grasping for straws. Either way, I have learned so much through this experience. As a result, on an evening when I'm tired and lacking inspiration, here are a few things I have learned through this process:

• It feels good to commit to something and stick to it. I was a little reluctant when Miss Collins first asked me to participate in the Slice of Life.  I suppose my jitters were a little more about actually creating a blog that about the writing.  She convinced me creating a blog was easy, walked me right down to my office to show me how to do it, and I agreed to commit to writing for 31 days.  It feels good to know I'm only a little over a week away from fulfilling that commitment.  I'm notorious for "committing" to things and then failing to follow through like I had hoped.  Each year I "commit" to exercising, losing weight, being healthier, playing more golf, etc.  Unfortunately, life gets in the way or I simply fail to fulfill those commitments.  It feels really good to know I have fulfilled a commitment not only to myself, but to Miss Collins and her students.
• Writing each day has been difficult.  Little did I know that creating my blog would be the easy part.  It's been the writing that has been challenging for me.  I feel obligated to offer something meaningful, compelled to share some pearl of wisdom or grain of inspiration.  Some days I feel I have succeeded.  On other days, however, I feel like I'm simply checking my blog off my to-do list.  I've struggled to generate new ideas, I've started posts only to erase them and start over, and on numerous occasions, I have written a post, saved it, and then come back later to read it again before finally submitting it.  Either way, committing to write and creating posts that are meaningful has been a tremendous challenge.  
• As difficult as it has been, the Slice of Life has rekindled my love of writing.  I haven't always enjoyed writing.  I suppose high school was when I first began to experiment with writing for fun.  I had a friend in high school who loved to write poetry.  She was quite good at it, and challenged me to try my hand at it.  At first I was reluctant, but I soon found myself writing poems to explain my feelings or to document important events in my life.  In college, I began writing short inspirational stories.  I never shared those stories with anyone, but it felt good to write.  I was inspired by authors I enjoyed and began to pay attention to the way they put words together and how they formed sentences and organized their thoughts.  As I progressed through college, however, writing became more technical and less enjoyable.  I had to write countless reflection papers for my college degree, a huge research paper for both my bachelor's and master's degrees, and a massive dissertation for my doctorate degree.  In essence, writing became about accomplishing a task and fulfilling a responsibility.  The papers I wrote became hoops I jumped through to fulfill class requirements.  All my creativity and the craft of writing that I admired in authors was replaced with citations and technical language.  In all honesty, after completing my doctorate dissertation, I was through with writing.  I even remember thinking that I would be glad to not have to write again.  The Slice of Life, however, has allowed me to write what I want to write.  My writing hasn't had to be fancy, I haven't had to worry about citations and following the rules that govern technical and research writing.  I've been able to express myself and write in a way that fits my personality.  I forgot how much I love writing and have felt empowered and humbled all at the same time throughout this month.
• I've loved learning more about our students and my co-workers.  My school days are busy.  They are jam packed with meetings, lunch duty, visiting with students, observing in classrooms, communicating with parents and teachers, and all the other tasks that fill my schedule on a daily basis.  As a result, I rarely have time to just sit and visit with my teachers or students like I would like to.  A Slice of Life, however, has given me a glimpse into the lives of some of my teachers and students.  It's been fun to read about Miss Collins' adventures in Florida, to laugh at Mrs. Williams' story about her fortune cookie, to vicariously experience constructing a fence with Mrs. Booher, and both laughing and thinking when I read one of Mrs. O's posts.  I've also enjoyed seeing the creativity in our students and have admired their commitment to writing.  I've been impressed with not only their writing ability, but their willingness to share their experiences and their writing with others.  

The Slice of Life has become part of my daily routine.  While it's been challenging, it's also been rewarding and fun.  I honestly think I will miss it when this month is over.  Perhaps I'll just keep blogging...now that would be a commitment!