Walking the Walk

I've spent the last 13 years of my educational career embracing the power of writing. As teachers, we understand that writing gives everyone a voice - a voice that connects, shares, implores, informs. We relish in its power to document an existence, to communicate the abstract, to process thinking in ways that forces us to understand life, the world around us, and, most importantly, ourselves.  For years, I've seen students become more confident, global citizens who are prepared to communicate through writing, academically and creatively.  As a Language Arts Professor, I perpetuate the importance of writing to my pre-service teachers who eagerly await their opportunity to pass on my message of influence.

Tonight, as I released another set of these pre-service teachers into greatness after a semester full of writing, sharing, and learning, I began thinking about all the writing journeys I have initiated among my own students as a secondary English teacher and university professor. I've shaped future teachers and created authors. I wonder, however, do I practice what I teach?  Do I let my thoughts and emotions take life on a page? Do I document my learning experience and processes for the world to see, analyze, and rip apart? Am I ready to be as vulnerable as I always encourage my students to be?

In the midst of professional growth, I've decided it's time to walk the walk. And what a better way to take that risk than through blogging. So today, I begin my own writing journey, affect my own processing, and encourage my own growth. I don't know where this blogging itch will take me, but it's a trip I must experience if I am going to continue professing the power of the written word.

After all, I trust Tao Philospher Lao-tzu's words when he says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" or in this case - a single post. Happy Reading!