Reflection Journal
I think it goes without saying that 2020 had a lot of tough moments-hours-days-months. My family has been extraordinarily lucky in that we all still have our jobs and have been Covid-free (as far as we know), and that in itself is a huge win. The start of the school year was the roughest one I’ve ever had (and I’m not even a classroom teacher anymore, so go figure THAT) and while I still love my job, it’s more exhausting than usual and harder to step back, even when that is exactly what I need to do sometimes. The plus side, though, is I work with a great team. On occasion I wonder how I would do if I were still teaching vs. doing tech support and I think I’d be okay. I have a wealth of varying educational experiences in my background (including online teaching) which would help ease some of the continual changes and transitions this school year continues to bring.
“Write In Journal” by Walt Stoneburner is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Personally, I cycle through the pockets of joy and pits of despair a little quicker than I used to, but the key has been to remind myself the cycle will continue. I try to focus on the wins: I finished another manuscript this past year. I have ideas for another. We have new, better leadership ahead. Great books continue to get published and I get to read them. 😀 We have a vaccine.
Learning Objective
My one-word resolution last year was FLOW. On retrospect, what a prescient choice it was! I wrote last year, “I’m leaning into my personal motto of “It’ll all work out” and allowing myself the slower transition to some professional changes and taking deep breaths as I prepare to query my latest novel.” As the year turned into something few of us could have predicted, I know I made conscious choices to truly let myself flow with it all. It’s not like it was always easy, but I think I did well with it. This year I considered “resilience”, but I think a more accurate resolution is ELASTICITY. On the one hand, one definition is the ability to resume an original shape after being stretched, but the second definition given is the one I most want to zero in on: “ability to change and adapt”. Honestly, I pride myself on already being able to do this, but as I look ahead at some personal challenges I have for myself, I foresee needing an elasticity beyond what I’ve had. Bring it, 2021.
Reading Minutes
What would my first post of the calendar year be if I didn’t reflect upon my reading goals? And no, I don’t set a number of books to read as a goal because A) stressful and B) I don’t need a goal to keep me reading. (No criticism of those who have a goal of # of books! It’s just not for me!) Instead, I’ve been continually trying to increase the percentage of books I read to be from #ownvoices – ie: authors from underrepresented populations and writing of their own lived experiences.
2018: 45% of books I read were #ownvoices
2019: 46% of books I read were #ownvoices
2020: 57% of books I read were #ownvoices
I’m really proud of my progress. I don’t really have a goal percentage, but higher is always better! The best part, though, is I read so many truly great books, which is really the whole point, of course.
National Standards
Here are some of my top reads of 2020:
ADULT
On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong
Loathe at First Sight – Suzanne Park
Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid
Love Lettering – Kate Clayborn
The Mountains Sing – Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Salvage the Bones – Jesmyn Ward
The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett
All the Devils Are Here – Louise Penny
You Had Me at Hola – Alexis Daria
Get a Life, Chloe Brown – Talia Hibbert
The City We Became – N.K. Jemison
YOUNG ADULT
Like a Love Story – Abdi Nazemian
Picture Us in the Light – Kelly Loy Gilbert
Punching the Air – Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
MIDDLE GRADE
A Good Kind of Trouble – Lisa Moore Ramée
Continuing Education
If you are active on Instagram, or would like to be, I have some recommendations!
For racial and social justice, I have found great value in the following accounts. They tell it straight and keep me on top of news and awareness:
@accordingtoweeze
@privtoprog
@ckyourprivilege
@myishathill
I tried to get into yoga, but wasn’t successful. I did, however, hang onto this great account. She posts like crazy, but also, the posts are super body-affirming:
@dianebondyyogaofficial
Writers! These particular ones are delving into some great IGTV series about writing, books, and motivation:
@bradeighgodfrey
@thishammer
@kathleenwestwrites
@jennifer_klepper
@lainey_cameron
Currently Reading (print): A Thousand Questions (MG)– Saadia Faruqi
Currently Reading (audio): When Dimple Met Rishi (YA)– Sandhya Menon
Song of the Week:
It’s a new year, hopefully a better one. Let’s go with “Good Things” by the Bodeans
It'll All Work Out 