It's been too long, blog family, but I hope you'll stick with me and continue to follow my journey. The experience of ILA Austin combined with family vacation back to back was amazing, but the scheduling took its toll. This post, however, will tell you more about me as a human and about my readiness to get back to the good work.
Let's start with my experience in Austin, TX. When I submitted the proposal to ILA, my principal and assistant principal of instruction were designated to present with me. After a few conflicts and changes in schedules, I ended up on the plane to present solo at an international conference. In my preparation to leave, I imagined the drive to Atlanta and parking at the airport would be my biggest nightmares. Once I got on the plane, I realized my greatest fear was really being in a place alone where I knew NO ONE. Talk about stepping out of your comfort zone.
Doing the presentation alone crossed my mind a few times and caused me a little sweat, but thinking about how to spend 3 nights in city that far from home without someone to talk to caused me a lot of anxiety. Let me be honest about myself here. I love presenting and talking about topics I'm passionate about (school, books, literacy instruction) to any audience. Where I feel uncomfortable is making small talk. I seriously thought about going to the conference sessions and going back to my room everyday because I was self-conscious about meeting new people and being my typical awkward self in a social setting. Example of awkward self: I tried to give a fist bump to someone at the gym yesterday when they were CLEARLY high fiving me. My response was, "I'm sorry. I make things awkward." Insert emoji of girl shrugging her shoulders here.
That sounds crazy, right? Let me stand up and speak to a room full of people I don't know at an international conference, but then I need to run straight to my room and hide because I'm scared to talk to people.
I made it a personal goal on this trip to ILA Austin to reach out and try to have casual conversations with people I had never met. The first night I was there, I had dinner alone at a tourist "must see" restaurant. I made small talk with a few people, but I still sat alone with at least one seat in between me and all the world. After dinner, I walked back to hotel, thought about going to bed at 7 PM, and then decided to sit down in the crowded hotel lounge beside a woman who was talking with a group of people across the table. I sat there for almost 30 minutes listening to their conversation (I know, that sounds crazy). Listening to her conversation with the server. Finally, I said, "Hey, I think we might have some things in common. I'm Erin." OH THE ANXIETY. But it turned out to be an awesome step, and we spent the rest of the conference visiting sessions, talking about our careers, and visiting local tourist spots.
On the flight home, I was prepared to listen to Harry Potter on Audible and close my eyes (introverts that want to be extroverts understand this). As it turns out, I was moved to an exit row. Tall people, that's the best thing ever, unless you can pay for first class. I ended up next to one of the most genuinely nice people I've ever met. He was headed to a family vacation on a lake in Georgia, and he taught in a high-poverty area in California. We talked the entire flight about education, the desire to make lives better for our students, and horoscope compatibility. I know very little about horoscopes other than I am a Leo. I would hop on another flight by myself to anywhere if I was promised to be seated next to someone with such a good soul.
Once I got home, it was time to disconnect and focus on my family. We took our first family of four vacation to Gatlinburg, TN, and we spent most of our time swimming in the resort's pool and relaxing in the condo. We did journey out to the wilderness of Cade's Cove and to the showmanship of Dixie Stampede, and I'm amazed at how much my little family connected and laughed during those few days. I unintentionally left my computer at home. I had planned to spend a few days catching up grading assignments for the course I'm facilitating this summer, and I was devastated when we crossed the state line to realize I left my entire bookbag at home. Leaving my laptop was one of the greatest blessings of my life. It was so nice to reconnect with my family. More than anything, I loved sitting by the pool and watching my husband play with our two little ones. He is so much a child at heart, and that is one of his greatest attributes.
We are home, and we are in week one of me going back to school. Our little girl started her new daycare this week, and it's been a HUGE adjustment. I have been working frantically to make sure I have all my ducks in a row for school to start back. My leadership team at James M. Brown has been amazing at accepting my crazy ideas and willing to help the ideas come to fruition. If you need proof, see our Carpool Karaoke video on YouTube. We found this idea in Lead Like a Pirate by Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess. After attending GYTO in San Diego, I knew I could make the lyrics happen, but I needed the crew to buy in and SING! We had so much fun bringing the idea to life, and I can't wait for one of the teachers at my school to ask me to come sing a song with content lyrics. I will bring the mic.
The first few days back to school were awesome and energizing. I can't wait to see what this year brings. I spent all day today spray painting and making vinyl labels for my office. I hope the labels will really help me stay organized, but we'll see. :)
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