Inspiration

            It’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I almost just shut the whole thing down and “retired” from blogging altogether.  But lately, I’ve had this undeniable desire to write.  I think about writing, I plan out how I’m going to start, and then I sit down in front of the television or play with my iPhone.  I hate it when I don’t make myself do things that I know I deeply enjoy.  So, on this Friday evening, I’ve cleaned the house and gotten a manicure, and I am sitting in the quiet of my empty house with my laptop on my knees. 

Part of my recent desire to write has come from inspiration from other writers.  I recently stumbled across Jon Acuff’s blog, “Stuff Christians Like,” while reading a tweet of Dave Ramsey’s.   I was instantly drawn to Jon’s candor and wit talking about things that Christians like, whether we should or not.  I spent nearly an hour reading old posts on my little iPhone screen.  Now that I think about it, I should have been spending that time writing myself!

I found another great blogger last week while trying desperately to find interesting articles for my 9^th graders to read about banned books.  For the Love of YA popped up on my Google search, and I knew this blogger and I were kindred spirits.  She loves reading young adult literature as much-if not more- than I do and is proud of it.  She’s a high school English teacher like me, and she reviews tons of new lit for teens and offers a teacher's perspective.  Not only did she make me want to write, she made me want to read, too which is something else I’ve been neglecting as of late.     

Another source of writing inspiration came from the most unlikely of places- The Salisbury Post.  I’ve had a love/hate relationship for with The Post for years.  They never seem to say exactly what I think needs to be said about the happenings at WRHS.  Just this summer they published a list of Rowan County students accepted to the School of Math and Science and failed to mention the students from West altogether. (I also find much of their reporting to be biased and unprofessional- but I digress. ) Sunday’s Verner Opinion piece, however, brightened my morning.  So much so that I was texting Megan about it long before she was up for the day.  The piece was titled “Let’s think Big on the Presidency” and satirized the obese condition of Chris Christie in comparison to the fit free world leader we have today.  I loved the wit and cleverness of every fat joke embedded in the text.  I really loved it because we were smack dab in the middle of Nonfiction and studying satire in my English class.  I linked the article to our class website and spent Monday reveling in the play on words and the seemingly endless synonyms Verner used for fat.  My students liked it, too and I succeeded in showing them how the real world is full of things that I try to teach them in class every day.

I’ve been so tempted to set a goal for myself to write or blog a certain number of times in a week or in a month, but that is so un-organic.  I believe so deeply in authentic writing that I never want to write because it’s a certain date on the calendar.  For that reason, I’ve decide to just recommit myself to doing something that I really love doing and not cheat myself out of the experience when something is on my mind.  I hope I can stick to that.  I hope I will write more often.  I hope you will read it, and maybe want to write something yourself, even if it’s just a grocery list!