Writing Challenge #14

10 Year Text by Tia Singh

Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Imagine your future self, ie, you 10 years from now. If he/she were to send you a tweet or text message, 1) what would it say and 2) how would that transform your life or change something you’re doing, thinking, believing or saying today?

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1) Stop being afraid.

2) I would say exactly what I want to say when I want to say it. I would stop procrastinating. I would start believing that I have something worth contributing or saying and not doubt myself so much.

Writing Challenge #13

Overcoming Uncertainty by Sean Ogle

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Write down a major life goal you have yet to achieve or even begin to take action on. For each goal, write down three uncertainties (read: fears) you have relating to each goal. Break it down further, and write down three reasons for each uncertainty. When you have three reasons for your fear, you’ll be able to start processing the change because you know where the fear stems from. Now you’ll be able to make a smaller changes that push you towards your larger goal. So begins the process of “trusting yourself.”

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I really don't feel like doing this today. I didn't get the state director job. Back to looking for high school positions and a commute.

Time for more beer on Frenchman Street!

Writing Challenge #12

Alive-est by Sam Davidson

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. If we follow the truth, it will bring us out safe at last. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

When did you feel most alive recently? Where were you? What did you smell? What sights and sounds did you experience? Capture that moment on paper and recall that feeling. Then, when it’s time to create something, read your own words to reclaim a sense of being to motivate you to complete a task at hand.

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A new friend lent me his bike for my stay in New Orleans. A massive beast that only a Shwinn can embody, this bike came complete with white wall tires, cushy seat, soda rack tied to the back, and handlebars fit for a second passenger. Now that I have lowered the seat to fit my height he is a dream to ride. Bouncing around the potholes in the quarter this weekend I was hit with a sense of being gloriously free. I couldn't help but smile and a laugh escaped me for no good reason. The smells around me were a mixture of southern food, gutter garbage, and salt water. I was surrounded by french-style architecture, sandwiched together; bright, shuttered, with each house as unique as a fingerprint.

I don't know if I can or want to capture that feeling all the time. It was pretty marvelous. However, I will treasure it and go back to that moment whenever I need to remember how incredibly amazing life can be.

Writing Challenge #11

Personal Recipe by Harley Schreiber

I do not wish to expiate, but to live. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady. I wish it to be sound and sweet, and not to need diet and bleeding. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Think about the type of person you’d NEVER want to be 5 years from now. Write out your own personal recipe to prevent this from happening and commit to following it. “Thought is the seed of action.”

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I NEVER want to be selfish, petty, demanding, controlling, or ungrateful. I NEVER want to be a complainer or whiner. I NEVER want to be a fake friend.

My personal recipe to keep this from happening is to: give respect, require respect, practice compassion, and have a habit of perpetual integrity. I am going to love my friends with wild abandonment and surround myself with people that share a mutual appreciation for positivity. I will have a smile, eye contact, and a firm handshake when I meet someone new. I will make an effort to have unconditional support for, and communication with, my friends. No apologies for who I am and what I stand for, but maintain a gracious attitude in regards to other people's beliefs.

Thought truly is the seed of action. I have been doing a lot of thinking the past 6 months - of which my actions these days are a surprising reflection.

Writing Challenge #10

Call to Arms by Sasha Dichter

The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair.

You’re just written your own job description. You know what you have to do. Go!

(bonus: send it to the CEO with the title “The things we absolutely have to get right – nothing else matters.”)

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Well, if I get the job that I interviewed for, I will be the Head Honcho =)

- Get the finances in order. Recover all files and start a ledger for 2011-2012. Get the real balance and set up for the next year.

- Organize all physical items. Create an inventory of materials. Organize where and how we order all materials.

- Create a budget for material purchases and contracted design work.

- Make a list of the top 10 teachers in GA that I need to meet. Set up meetings and travel to each school to meet their chapters and introduce myself. Get feedback and advice about the organization. Figure out what people want to keep and what they want to change.

- Create the calendar for next year's conferences.

- Assess the conferences and lay out the schedule and organization of each one.

- Set up board meetings and clarify everyone's role at each conference.

That would just be the short term things. With the organization in such an upheaval, I have a lot of organizing and refocusing to do. Long term?

- Meet with businesses and strengthen connections for sponsorship.

- Align the roles of the Foundation and DOE for TSA. Work out a plan for improved collaboration.

- Set up 2012's calendar of conferences and book all event spaces.

- Organize tax information to make it smooth and automatic every year.

- Research schools that do not have TSA and set up meetings with the technical education teachers to discuss how we could make it possible for them to have a chapter.

That ought about do it. The organization should be self-sustaining and keep rolling once the major hurdles of relocation, finances, and the calendar are taken care of.

New motto?
"I thrive on task lists, not time clocks."

Writing Challenge #9

The last few challenges have been kinda...lame. Or at least ideas that are not really applicable to my life. Hopefully this weekend will prove to be better. This one looks interesting....

Most Ordinary by Susan Piver

Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are our most potent at our most ordinary. And yet most of us discount our “ordinary” because it is, well, ordinary. Or so we believe. But my ordinary is not yours. Three things block us from putting down our clever and picking up our ordinary: false comparisons with others (I’m not as good a writer as _____), false expectations of ourselves (I should be on the NYTimes best seller list or not write at all), and false investments in a story (it’s all been written before, I shouldn’t bother). What are your false comparisons? What are your false expectations? What are your false investments in a story? List them. Each keep you from that internal knowing about which Emerson writes. Each keeps you from making your strong offer to the world. Put down your clever, and pick up your ordinary.

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1) What are my false comparisons?
I compare myself to dancers who are working professionals or people who have been doing it for much longer than myself. As a fiercely competitive person that pushes it all underneath I struggle with feeling less than amazing. I have to constantly remind myself that my life path is not to be a famous dancer. I love dancing, I love the challenge, social circle, and joy it gives me -- but I am not going to dedicate 100% of my time and energy into it. I have other things to give the world. I have mad respect for the people that put their heart and soul into it, but I have to remind myself that since I am not one of those people, the result (my level of dancing) is just never going to be the same. (I am actually going to write a mildly controversial post about dancing/teaching and that whole concept soon...still working on formulating my thoughts)

In terms of my job/career I tend to compare myself to people who have been doing it for 20+ years. Guys that started teaching Tech Ed when it was shop, and used band saws instead of keyboards. Hmmm...I know that I have a hefty knowledge base, work experience, and two degrees so why do I compare myself? Well, being a female under the age of 30 does not give you much street cred when you walk in the door. I am constantly having to prove myself and over-discuss topics for anyone to give me any kind of respect. Grrrrr...

2)What are my false expectations?
I guess I keep expecting people to give me more recognition without proving myself so much. But, I am a firm believer in hard work paying off. Weird combination.

3) What are my false expectations in a story?
I am ready to move forward in my career -- and am doing what is necessary to make that happen. But, I buy into the feeling that I am just not good enough. There is no way that I could ever be the director of GA TSA. I am so young, and no one would take me seriously. But, then I turn around and say holy crap, I am so overqualified for this position why would they even bother looking at other applicants? I have content knowledge, teaching experience, leadership experience, event organizing experience, and a solid track record of promotions. Insert expletive.
It is difficult not to buy into the story that I am not an adult with a strong resume. So easy to keep feeling like I am just fresh outta college...

I must admit. I am not a huge fan of this post. It took me forever to write it and I kept getting distracted. Boo.

Writing Challenge #8

Intuition by Susan Piver

The secret of fortune is joy in our hands. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you could picture your intuition as a person, what would he or she look like? If you sat down together for dinner, what is the first thing he or she would tell you?

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My intuition would look like a free spirit. A broad smile and easy laugh. A sense of openness and friendliness that does not overwhelm, suffocate, or demand. The first thing she would say to me is to stop being afraid. Stop holding back. Reach for the stars and nothing less.