2/20/12

Going from Point A. to Point B.

On Friday, I left the lovely, little Compound and made my way to big, bright Chicago. This was my first trip, driving, to downtown Chicago completely alone.  It was fun & exciting, in that second thoughts & sweaty pits kind of way.

Of course, these exhilarating adventures never go perfectly. I did not intend to lock my keys in the car at The Belvidere Oasis, yesterday at 7am, but I did, but I still made it back to The Compound in one piece. Sure, I am $60 lighter and I'm having a spare key lodged in my colon for my next trip, but overall, it was a blast.

I love experiences like that. Moments when sheer panic is sandwiched between moments of complete confidence & total amazement. I have not had many of these moments lately.

Let's be clear, spending the last 2 months working with 8th graders, has scared the hell out of me at levels that shake my entire belief system, and I have glimpses of confidence & amazement every once in awhile, but mostly I'm just treading. 

Treading from one side of the shallow end to the other. Safe, relaxed, comfortable & constant. Very seldom have there been big splashes or rippling waves that make me wonder...What's at the other end? Not much, recently, has made me venture out of this guarded puddle, to go check out the sea of possibility beyond. Why can't something dive in and make that happen for me?!

Why?! Because I'm in charge of my life's design & destination. It's my job to slosh around and see for myself.  I get to choose where I'm swimming and who I'm swimming with, and damn it, I get to decide what swims in my deep end. That sentence is sponsored by my new company...Key In Your Rear.

My point is this, I've decided it's time to stop waiting for some random thing to make my dreams come true...I'm going to do it myself. Will the waves swallow me whole from time to time? Will I be clinging to a buoy occasionally? Yep...but I bet I'll get through it, and make it safely to shore.

I love this blog. I love writing. I love taking photos. I love learning. I love teaching. I love getting to know interesting people.

I've been toying with the idea of bringing them all together.

I'm done toying around.

I'm going to do this thing.