The Time is Right to Write

 Hey. Remember me? I know it's been awhile. A whole year, I think. 

It sure has been a year. I cannot count the number of times I considered writing reflections on the year here. Surely, this was a year to record our place in a history-making pandemic? But just as often as I thought about writing here, I stopped myself; after all, what makes my experiences different or worth noting? We have collectively endured a year of loss, struggles, pain. So, I'm not going to write a long recap of our entire year here. 

Instead, I want to write about writing. I know I have another post on the subject but this one has a different purpose. Jeff recently sent me an opinion piece from The Washington Post that immediately resonated with me: Journaling for kids: How (and why) to start a journaling practice with kids Like the author, I was encouraged to journal as a kid. As the author notes, journaling helped me process the most significant events in my life, such as the loss of my mom and other family, conflicts with friends, an accountability of goals and hopes (and plenty of gushing about crushes, I have no doubt). As author Amy Tan once said, "When I go back and read my journals or fiction, I am always surprised. I may not remember having those thoughts, but they still exist and I know they are mine, and it's all part of making sense of who I am" (source). 

In my classes, I build in activities or tasks that direct students to practice metacognition, or thinking about thinking. Students always look at me sideways when they hear such a definition: thinking about thinking? It's helpful (and healthy) to consider where our ideas come from. How do we know what we know? It forces our brains to review the steps or processes by which we learn something. It's similar with journaling. Taking time to write down my thoughts in a journal helped me to be reflective about how I was feeling or ponder how to make goals (personal and professional) happen.

Having been reminded of all that, I proposed the idea of journaling to Nathan. He is a growing up during a pandemic and his perspective or experience may be different from anyone else. He already has a few blank notebooks acquired through school book fairs and I explained how he could write anything he's thinking about. Anything. I invited him to keep his words private or share with either Jeff or I, as desired. He was initially interested in the idea but time will tell if it really takes hold. And then I felt a nagging: why was I encouraging Nathan to do something I could or should be doing as well? Maybe my experiences are not that different from anyone else's, but taking time to put them down in writing or journaling can help me find clarity when so much is not clear in this pandemic. 

While I have an old journal with pages to spare, I grabbed a new one today. Maybe a new one will motivate me to dive back in. It should be noted, however, that historically, December 31st/January 1st are my most consistent dates for reflection and journaling. The rest of the year is much more spotty. Same with my blogging habits. 😜 I will try to use the same advice I gave Nathan: start small. Write down just a few words or sentences. Capture the moments, not every minute. 

Do you journal? How do you process this pandemic or other big moments or feelings in your life? Write poetry or podcast? Paint or other art medium? Feel free to comment.