One Line. . .1

School has taken over my life.

Facebook has become my message board to the world.  My little Facebook world, anyway.  It is much quicker to post a picture and make a quick status update than to create an entire blog post.  But I miss the writing, the personal reflection, the string of multiple thoughts that form as I write them and turn into something so much more than I sat down to write.  Like this post, for instance.  Who knows yet what it will become!

I have heard a million times that to be a writer you must write.  Every day.  Yeah, I don't do that.  The "writer" in me has gotten buried under the student, mother, wife, aspiring teacher roles (among others). I miss her.

I read some advice today about how to make your life happier by starting at home.  I am absolutely a believer that if your home is orderly your life will feel more orderly and vice versa.  Along with an orderly home, this person suggests that everyone should take time at the end of the day to reflect and jot down one line of gratitude for the day.  Positive thoughts beget positive thoughts.

In school we do a lot of reflection.  To be a good teacher, one must be willing to ponder what it is that is working and what isn't, and then be willing to be flexible.  We read a lot about how to better ourselves so we can help better the lives around us.

The last year has held so much growth for me. My relationship with myself has improved a hundred fold.  A lot of reflection has brought me to where I am today and will surely propel me into the future.  I have learned that once you are willing to really look inside yourself and question every last thing you see, really question why you think that and what that means and how that impacts who you are, inside your own head, inside your circle of family and friends, inside your community and greater world at large, you learn things.  It's scary.  But if you can really decided what you are willing to stand behind and what you need no part of, if you accept your weaknesses AND your strengths, if you own your life instead of letting others define you, it gets less scary.  It gets pretty great, actually.  The added bonus to being totally comfortable within yourself? The world becomes a better place, full of fabulous people and wonderful potential.  I like my world.

I have plenty of self-improving to do, no one is ever done with that, but when I look back to even one year ago I see how far I've come, and it inspires me to keep going.

It also inspires me to take back that which I have given up, my writing time.  Even if it is only one line of gratitude each day.  Ha! I set out to write one line of gratitude about my day and ended up with a whole post.  Apparently the writer inside me thinks she has things to say.  We shall see. . .

Day One:

Today I am grateful for. . . (sheesh, I have been sitting here for several minutes trying to pick just one--It's very hard!) great, intelligent friends whom I admire, who post inspiring things on Facebook that make me stop and think and make small changes to improve myself.  Thank you.