Summer is quickly coming to an end, as is this sudden hiatus I took from blogging. I have to admit, once I completed the PhD, I somewhat melted. My education took up such a large chunk of my time for six years, to suddenly have that window available again has left me floundering a bit. How do I fill the time? What are my priorities? How do I want to position myself going forward?
Of course, with the pandemic, I think we're all asking these big questions, reevaluating our lives, how we want to live them and what/who we want to keep in them. The pandemic showed us what really matters to us and I hope we don't lose that—it's been a time of extreme reflection, examination, and transformation. In fact, I gave the keynote talk at Hollins University this summer semester on "Transformations." It was well received and I'd love to share it with your group too. (Email me if you're interested.)
What I've concluded from all this reflection/examining is that I am going to change things going forward. I still love children's books, that won't change; but I'll be adding a new focus to my endeavors: "Creative Thinking." Too often, I see the "A" left out of "STEAM," which, I think does real harm to our society that so desperately needs creative thinkers to improve our world. If we are to make new plans for a world that better serves the lives of all people, we need visionaries, people who think outside the lines, or who can envision those plans for others. Ironically, it's the tagline I've been using for some time now already: "Living life outside the lines."
But it's not just about living outside the lines, it's also about thinking, creating, teaching, fill-in-the-blank, etc... outside the lines. I'm giving myself a year to see how this will manifest in my life, how it will change what I create, and what I will share with you, dear readers. So, keep an eye on this space as I experiment and introduce new ideas to help us keep the good lessons we've learned from this difficult time and carry them forward, transforming ourselves and our world into a reality we all can look forward to enjoying. Join me!
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