#OneWord2022

Here we go again...

A new year, a new word.

I have always tried to choose words that would make me a better version of myself, but in a realistic kind of way.  Like, what could I reasonably focus on, that would make my year better?  Looking back, most of the words have been more to improve my professional life as an educator, or my life as a parent.  Perhaps this year, I will just choose to do something that I love.

READ.

I have always been a reader.  I grew up across the street from the library.  Steven Kellogg and Judith Viorst were my picture books of choice.  As I got to 3rd grade, I used to spend my allowance money at Waldenbooks.  I started as a Babysitters Club fanatic, then moved onto Christopher Pike novels as a young teen.  My high school and college years were spent in mostly the required readings, but I did take an elective British lit class at U of I that I really enjoyed.  For awhile, it was Dan Brown, Nicholas Sparks, and the Shopaholic books that grabbed my attention.  Then, I became a teacher.  The first book I bought for my classroom was the new Ramona's World book, published just that year. I hung around in early chapter books for awhile, and then moved up to middle grade.  Harry Potter was my guy.  As a literacy coordinator, I started to read young adult as well.  I also started reading quite a bit of historical fiction, mostly around our units of study in 4th-8th grade.  Many of these books were read while I saw in a waiting room while my kids were at dance or swim class.  And that's where I stayed.  

Then, a pandemic hit.

While others might have used the pandemic to start reading, I stopped.  Like, almost completely.  There were a few novels read in Bazz's summer book clubs of 2019 and 2020 (with the best Zoom book club EVER with Colleen Hoover).  And Brezek had us read some social justice books in a book club, also via Zoom.  But, with a whole curriculum to revamp, I didn't have a lot of time to read.  And, with the time I did have to read, I spent hours on Twitter, reading articles about the pandemic and remote teaching and more about the pandemic. It's not like I was waiting for my kids at their sports classes anymore, either.  They were Zoom dancing in my front room.  Fiction became a thing of the past, unless I was reading it to record read alouds for our students.

I did buy a good amount of new novels, but they sat... Unread.

Then, one day last month, I was walking through Barnes and Noble to grab a coffee, and I saw it.  Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World.  There was a sequal?!?!  I read the first book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, years ago in one night.  I stayed up until 3 am to finish it.  I just needed to see what happened between Ari and Dante.  It was one of the first coming of age novels I'd read, and it just opened up so many new understandings for me about culture, the LGBTQ community, family, and identity, and LOVE. I needed that sequal.  So, I picked it up, and it joined the pile of books that I have been buying but not reading.

One day during break, I decided that Ari and Dante deserved to be read.  So, I picked it up, and pretty much didn't put it down.  This book!  Reading it during our current pandemic, but knowing that Ari and Dante found their love during the AIDS pandemic, just had a profound impact on me.  The story of loss, the value of friendship, the relationships we have with family, the impact of teachers, the threads on racism and advocacy, it was all there for me to discover.  And, it immediately reminded me of WHY I read fiction.  The world I live in is seen with my eyes, but when I read fiction, I step into the perspectives of others.  And, I always learn something that helps me see the humans in my own world in a new and more empathetic way.  Ari reminded me that, sometimes, we invent who other people are in our minds, and that invention becomes our reality.  But, it isn't reality.  That's a lesson I needed to read as I step into 2022, during year 3 of the COVID pandemic.

Dante and Ari's love story also taught me that I need to remember and make space for my own love of books in 2022.  Works of fiction help me see the world as it was, and as it could be. They help me be a better human.  So, this year I will READ.  

(For you audio book lovers out there, Lin-Manuel Miranda narrates both books!  I might just need to listen to the first one all over again...)

And, I just so happen to have a friend who is leading the charge by organizing a teacher book club.  Thanks, Claudia Scott, for the motivation.

I think my first title in 2022 will be the book I started on summer vacation in the Smoky Mountains in 2021, This Tender Land.  I just need to find it...  I also bought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone books for a little family book club.  And, there might have been a sale on hardcover books this week at Barnes and Noble.  

Let's READ!

 

#OneWord2021

      So, it seems, I have not blogged about my #oneword for a few years.  Imagine my surprise when I went to my blog to refresh my memory, and my memory failed me because I didn't even remember to write about it for multiple years.  

     I went to Twitter to "help" my memory, and came up with this #oneword history:

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

 

So, in the past 5 years, I strived to:

• Be present with the people in the moment.
• Be confident in making decisions in my life and in my new (at the time) professional role.
• Organize, everything.
• Don't make major changes, rather make nuanced ones that achieve goals.
• Focus on today, and try to worry less about tomorrow. 

     That last one.  What a spot on word! I had really struggled coming up with a word for 2020.  Now, as I look back, I think I was on the struggle bus for a variety of reasons.  I couldn't even pick a word to focus on. But, I went and hung out with a 5th grade class, and a 5th grade student shared his word, and it was TODAY because he worries so much about tomorrow and the future that his word was to help him remember to live TODAY.  I asked him if I could borrow his word, because I was feeling the same way.  

     And then a pandemic hit.

     Suddenly, TODAY was a whole new thing.  For months there, that word went from trying to focus just on today because the stress of tomorrow was too great, while simultaneously trying to reinvent today because yesterday wouldn't work in a pandemic world.  We ended up reinventing TODAY:  education, shopping, birthdays, holidays, experiences, celebrations, everything.  The day to day life we had had was no longer within reach.  So, we reinvented TODAY.

    TODAY.  That student sure helped me pick a good one.

     That brings me to 2021.  And honestly, I really need to use some of those previous year words again.  Like, I really really do.  But, I think that would be #OneWord cheating.  And 2021, while it brings hope for a better year ahead, also reminds us that the pandemic is far from over.  I could go with a word like "hope" or "joy," but I didn't really lose those in 2020.  I'd love to say "control," but 2020 taught me that is unrealistic.  I could be funny and choose "sanitize" but I do that pretty seamlessly.  I have become better at risk analysis, so I could go with "risk" but that might sound a bit negative.  The world doesn't need more negativity.  So, I landed on PRIORITIES.  It will help me reapply some of my words from the past, while also helping me make choices in a pandemic.  

2021

     I won't share with you what mine are, but I do encourage you to do the same (one word or not).  This world has forced us to the point of decision fatigue.  Perhaps if we keep our priorities in mind, it will help make those impossible decisions a little more possible.  And by impossible, I could just mean picking what to make for dinner. But, I also need to make big decisions, like keeping my kids as remote learners. In a pandemic, decisions are hard, and some feel like climbing a mountain with no gear. Maybe my PRIORITIES can be that compass I need.

     2020 has also made me realize that each one of us, as humans, have different priorities and goals.  The choices we make are on display for others to see these days.  But, if I keep my priorities at the center of my decision making, perhaps I will remain confident in my choices even if others would do things differently.  Here's to finding out if that happens!

     Stay well in 2021!

 

#OneWord2018: Organize

     My previous #onewords were present (2016) and confident (2017).  In my #bestnine on Instagram, I see evidence of both words!  I see opportunities where I was present with those in my life, and times when I remembered to be confident even in times of uncertainty and challenge.  I believe in the power of one word.  But what should my new word be?  

     I then stared around my kitchen table, filled with clutter...  I looked at my desktop, filled with files and screenshots and randomness.  I made a to do list, and I couldn't even process where to start first.  

     Organize.  I need to organize. 

     I almost went with declutter (as in declutter my mind and space).  But, after looking at the definition of declutter, I realized that my goal isn't to ultimately remove unnecessary items from my life.  It's more to organize my life so that I can declutter if necessary.   So, I looked up organize.

     When I read the definition of organize, I actually discovered it was the perfect word for me.  While my initial reason was just to be organized in my actual space and environment, I read that and realized that the word can mean so much more.  I had searched it as a verb, not as the adjective that I had originally intended on.  As a Literacy Coordinator currently working on an aligned curriculum with many groups of people coming together to make that happen, I realize that organize will help me me more successful with that, too.  

     The adjective (organized) works, too.  Perhaps not that organized crime example, but more like an organized Google Drive.  :)

     Here we go, 2018!  If I don't become organized, at least I have the intent to organize.  That's a step forward, right?

Be Present

     I was at the eye doctor with my son, and I found myself looking at this sign on the wall.  I have to admit, I stared at it longer than I would have thought I would have to to read it.  About midway through the stare, I almost convinced myself that I need glasses myself.  But then, I was able to decipher the message.  

Y

OU

CAN

RARE

LYSEE

WHATIS

RIGHTINF

RONTOFYOU

(I promise, it's a lot harder to read when the letters get smaller and they are weathered on wood. 

Or my 40 year old eyes might actually need glasses now, too.)

     My #oneword for last year was Present, so this sign struck a chord with me.  It's so true.  It's amazing the things that we miss that are right in front of us.  Our life gets busy, our stress tells us to focus on other things, our eyes don't focus on the things that our right in front of our face.  It's up to us to refocus on what matters.

    Thank you, eye doctor, for the reminder.

One Word 2017

First, a little reflection on 2016...

My words last year:

     Looking back at it I feel like "Present" was a good word for me.  Reading that, though, makes me think that it could be my word again this year.  (That might be cheating.)

     I have not mastered being present by any stretch of the imagination, but I did remember that goal for the entire year!!!  I found myself referring to my #oneword in conversations even in December.  That means that I was way more successful than I had been with traditional resolutions of the past. Those were usually forgotten by January 2nd.  Somehow my #oneword became a mantra.

     I was present more of the time, but I still have trouble balancing everything.  There just isn't enough time in the day...  But, when things got crazy, I remembered my one little word PRESENT and started to prioritize things.  What do I need to do right now, so that I can be back in the moment?  It helped, and I will continue that in 2017.  Now I just need to work on keeping the phone put away.  I think time and the digital world we live in are my two biggest challenges to being present.

And now on to 2017...

     I struggled with a word for this year.  To be honest, anxiety and worry has crept into my head in recent months, for a variety of reasons.  My name (Leah) literally means "the weary" and I have always been a worrier.  But, as 2017 approaches, I worry.  I was driving to dinner with a dear friend, thinking about a word that would mean the opposite of "worry"for my one word.  We were wearing our Star Wars shirts, in honor of Carrie Fisher and her mom, because after 25 years that's the kind of friends we are.  When I got to the restaurant I checked my phone to see if she had arrived yet, and saw a Twitter notification.  That's when I saw this:

     My one word was born.

     I was born in 1977, with the name Leah, and have always lived with references to Princess Leia.  I have come to identify with her, in some weird way, as the years have passed.  I now have children of my own who love Star Wars, and a son who identifies himself as BB-8 and a daughter who has Stormtrooper dreams.  Needless to say, I was devastated with Carrie Fisher's passing.  I actually hid in my bedroom and cried, and when my husband caught me I told him I knew how silly it was to be so sad about a person I never actually met.  And then I read a tweet from George Takei, which I word swagged:

     Growing up connecting myself to the character Princess Leia (even if just by name), I learned that not all princesses are frilly and fragile.  Some of them have quiet bravery that can move us with great force, and they stand up when someone needs someone to stand.  So, filled with anxiety and worry that is oh so familiar to me, I read that quote from Carrie Fisher and found my one word: CONFIDENT.

     For so many reasons, this is the word for me.  

     I was halfway through writing this, and stopped to have dinner on New Year's Eve.  My fortune cookie reaffirmed my word choice. 

     I will continue to worry and be fearful (because I always am), but I am going to try to move with confidence towards 2017 and make it a year to remember.  Our mind is a powerful thing, and I need to remember to not let worry shape my world.  I need to be confident and have that drive me, so that I see it in my life. 

     And now, just for the fun of it, here is a Princess Leia inspired picture to start 2017. Thanks, Carrie Fisher, for helping me see part of who I am through identifying with you, and somehow helping me to remember to be fearful yet strong even after you left this world.  What a strong princess you were indeed, and you are still teaching many little princesses to take your lead.

One Word

Time to draft some possible words:

Responsive
Joy
Blessings
Aware
Present
Organize
Warrior
Thankful
Value
Hope

OK, that't ten.  This is some tough stuff, picking ONE tiny word for the whole year.  To be honest, I have never been good at resolutions.  Resolutions don't last for longer than a few weeks, but I suppose that is because I am the type of person who prefers goals to resolutions.  Goals change more fluidly (at least in my definition).  To me, resolutions seem to be about fixing something broken in my life.  Goals seem more about getting better at something.  More #growthmindset, less #failure.  Like I said, perhaps that is just my definition.

But, as the big picture person I tend to be, picking a word to be a big idea theme of my 2016 seems right up my alley.  A word that could be at the heart of all my goals for the year?  Sign me up.

But, how do I pick just one?

I would pick responsive, but that was my unofficial word for 2015.  I didn't know about #oneword then, but I did use it to focus my job a bit.  It worked well for me, too.  But, it would be cheating to pick the same one twice.  Plus, while I was responsive at work, I don't think I was as responsive in my personal life.  Time to pick a word that fits my life, not just my career.

I would love to pick organize, but that really feels like a "resolution" type one word.  I would pick it more to "fix" something I feel is broken.  But, my life is cluttered.  I need to work on that.

So, I went to the online dictionary and read the definitions of some of those words.  And, the one that struck me, was PRESENT.

2016 is the year I am going to try to be more PRESENT.  I want to be more able to enjoy the things that are currently happening in my life.  I want to be more present for my kids, my husband, my students, my friends, my coworkers.  I want to be able to be more aware of the blessings that are with me as they happen.  There is no time like the present to make more time for the things that matter when then matter.  I suppose you could call it balance, in a way, but I want to figure out a way to be more able to live in the moment as the moment happens.  This big picture person wants to be able to focus on the moments in the year 2016.  

If you look on Urban Dictionary, you see this definition:

I do not have a problem seeing the forest.  In fact, I always see the forest.  Perhaps it is time to be a little more present and take a moment to see the trees within the forest.  I want to be present.  

It sounds like I am going to start close reading life again.  Watch out, when I do that, I tend to take more photographs, too.  Perhaps my one word should be snapshot.  OK, I need to hit publish before I change my mind AGAIN.  

I suppose my one word in itself isn't as important as the desire to make 2016 the best it can be.  So, here we go!  Happy New Year!