In One Week

At an early age I learned that determination can change the course of a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, a life.

In this particular case, it was one week ago that I didn’t know what a widget was.  I didn’t have a WordPress account.  I had never blogged outside of my “invitation only” Ning and I had never participated in #elmenchat or #edchat.

Tonight I reflect on the power of a week: 7 days, 168 hours , 604800 seconds. A week ago, my husband dropped our son off at preschool which allowed me a few uninterrupted hours before teaching my graduate class, ‘Technology for Learners’ and I decided to use that time to model being a risk taker.  Little did I know that this risk was more than just creating a WordPress, I quickly found myself blogging about the challenges of being dyslexic. What made this week different from other weeks was the simple fact that I put my heart and soul on the line without fear or hesitation to the World Wide Web, not just my students.  What I wrote this past week, I have shared with hundreds of students, parents and colleagues over the years.  There have been waves of shame and embarrassment that have come and gone over the years, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished and who I have become.

Believing that nothing happens in a vacuum or by accident, I have made such growth this week because of the influence of numerous people in my PLN!  Special “shout outs” to @3nmeinob and @crosbiematt for lots of WP encouragement and for getting me up and running on WP.  A big thank you to @virtual_teach, @ktenkely and @francesblo for helping me figure out how to get the word out and have people read and respond to this blog.  The biggest thanks goes to my husband Sean for figuring out how to customize my homepage – you are my rock star!

I’ll end with one of my favorite quotes from The Velveteen Rabbit:

What is REAL? Real isn’t how you are made.  It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for along time, not just to play with, but really loves you then you become real.  Does it hurt?  Sometimes.  When you are real you don’t mind being hurt.  Does it happen all at once or bit by bit?  It doesn’t happen all at once.  You become.

PS: I’m deeply grateful to many new followers this week as I begin this new adventure!  So looking forward to learning with you!  As I always end each class, “I miss you already!”  For those of you who know me, I’m signing it too!  🙂