I have been a blogger for a good chunk of my life. I started to maintain my first blog in 2012 and it was called 64 days of summer — that was the number of holidays I used to get before the next year for my undergraduate degree started. That summer, in 2012, I challenged myself to read 50 books. It was a wonderful summer. I recorded each and every day on my blog. I went back to working on it for 2 more summers after that year. I tried my hand at recording about the Winter break too on a separate blog but it was not the same. The summer of 2014 was a very important one because I was leaving for Canada in August, not letting myself accept the fact that I would never ever spend 64 days in a row in my home land again.
My habits of blogging and writing changed significantly with my moving countries. I continued for a little bit with the Winter blog (it was after all Fall/Winter in Canada when I arrived in the August of 2014), however, graduate courses took over the time I could spare from reading the books that I had bought from my own part-time teaching earnings.
It seems like a long time since then. I have learned a lot on the way. I have reflected a lot on my journey, in the years between being 19 years and turning 24 years of age. In the years I did not maintain a consistent blog, I still had adventures and I did write about them. However, the words remain in my personal journals, in poetry, or in emails to my best friend back home. I think those years are important to mention because some struggles can only be written about and shared after they are long past. So let’s leave the things that happened 5 light years away behind and focus on other things…
Irrespective of what happened and the epiphanies I had, the fact of the matter is that I know now, have known for a couple of months now, where I want to be and what I want to do. I have always been passionate about teaching. I have always been passionate about computing science. I have always had a knack for making people understand and removing their confusions. Hence, I accepted and was super enthusiastic when my mentor told me he knew I was meant to be a teacher. And here I am today on this journey to being a teacher.
As a teacher in Alberta, Canada, there are so many roles that we play. I have been getting to know those roles, reflect on them and understand them. I bring another dimension in this set-up. I am an International student who did not grow up or study in the Canadian school system. To me, everything I am told is new and the thirst for knowledge that I feel is more than I have ever felt before because I already am in that profession in my heart without an actual certification yet. I am getting there. I also suspect for a fact it will be a whole different set of challenges to get a job for that very reason. But maybe I am just making this seem hard in my head. There is no doubt I will give it all I got though.
I realized as I reflected and worked on my readings this week that I can do so much more. I am a bullet journalist who reflects on what she does everyday. I live in the age of technology, where resources are available at a fast speed and we are just a couple links away from finding the right person who can answer our questions. I am a writer. I am also ambitious.
This blog has been set up in the last three days. I have brainstormed ideas on what I want on it, what I want my readers to take out of it and I have also invested a lot of time on how to promote it. I have been talking to a friend of mine who has remained a routine blogger for many years. My brain has been running light years ahead because it wants to do everything right now — buy a domain, have lots of subscribers, write thousands of posts that will help pre-service teachers and once I am teacher, other teachers, get bullet journaling out there for teachers like me who love stationary, productivity, organization and of course, reflection. Yet, the content I want to write has not happened yet because I am yet to experience so much of what I want to write.
My friend told me there are four steps — content, growth, promotion and domain. Hence, I must hold my horses and focus on content first. How can I expect to reach an audience to whom I have nothing to say or offer just now except a promise?
Lesson of the day and something I will share with my students (one day): If you are just starting out with a project, I am super excited for you and glad you are doing it! Remember though, it is easy to fantasize and get caught up in details and planning of steps that you are not at. Focus on the step in front of you. Have ideas for later steps? Great! Write them down. Put them away. You will get there and trust me, you will not forget.
After 8 pages of bullet journaling focused on the blog I started three days ago, I know. 🙂
Also published on Medium.
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