Big, Scary Dream.

It's still technically a new year and I have very high hopes for 2015. Now that I have gotten all my coursework out of the way and my full teaching license is FINALLY processing....my mind can't help but wander to my next venture (aside from actually getting a new teaching job).

Believe it or not...I thought for two seconds about going back to school but a.) my husband and family would most definitely think I'd lost it and b.) stress. too much stress. Although, I think I've figured out that I secretly like stress and I really like to learn. I know, nerd alert! So, what, you ask, is up next? Truthfully, I have no idea. Remember, I'm trying not to resolve this year.

I do, however, have a BIG. SCARY. DREAM. This is actually terrifying to admit and it most likely will not happen in 2015. It may never happen. It frustrates me just as much as it excites me. If I tell you, that means it's out there in the open. People will know. You might even encourage me or hold me accountable....yikes. I seriously have butterflies as I type.

Ok, here it goes:

I want to be published one day. This is a dream that hasn't gone away. It's been written on my heart for years and only the closest people in my life have known about this desire. I mean, I feel a bit silly thinking about it sometimes. I haven't written tons (other than in journals since I was in third grade). I am not an English major. I don't have a Masters or a PhD. Besides, I don't know any publishers personally and really don't even know how to begin. I tell myself all the time, "I'm not credible" and simply, "I can't."

But here's the thing: sometimes I walk through my days and think of life in terms of poetry or children's literature. When something horrible happens, I want to write. When something spectacular happens, I want to write. Sometimes I actually do it and sometimes those thoughts just get lost in the dark, scary crevices of my brain [...eww].

In the classroom, my favorite subject to teach is Language Arts. The best aspect of teaching is to read books and poetry aloud to children. I love to watch their little minds escape and inspire them to imagine. [Imagining seems to be a dying art.] I want to be one of the creators of characters and the worlds they live in. Most of all, I want to encourage children to write. By writing stories myself, wouldn't I be more likely to have that kind of clout?

My dream has a Part 2: After I get published, I'd love to travel to schools and read to students or share my learning program with other teachers. I realize I am dreaming but I am okay with that. It doesn't hurt to dream. Isn't that what I just said I wanted to teach my students? I want to teach them to imagine and to imagine is to dream.

I would really love to know your dreams. What is it that truly terrifies you but continues to nag you most every day? What idea begs to be realized in your lifetime? Please share in your own blog and leave the link below or send me a personal message and I'll post it on mine. Share it with me over coffee. I'd love to encourage you. If it helps, I actually feel some kind of relief after sharing.



Lauren