Saturday, March 10, 2012

I think too much.



I think too much. That is what one of my school leaders tells me. It's true. I overanalyze. I question myself. I question others. I question motives. I stress. I pontificate. I play things over and over again in my head.


I Google a lesson like I am a CSI detective. I can't stop trying to figure out stuff--what's the best way to do this? What have others done? How can I tweak this?  My teaching will never be good enough for me. I question my decisions and actions each day.


I am a very social person, but I often feel like I don't belong. I am an introverted extrovert. I hate big parties because I am overwhelmed by all the catching up and all the talk that is said a thousand times (e.g. How's work? How are the kids? How's your husband? What's new? How's your family?). These questions matter, yes, but so often I feel like they are answered on a superficial and comfortable and socially acceptable party level.  Most people expect to hear everything is fine; even when it isn't. Oftentimes, we say we are fine; even when we are not.


I am a part of this new writing community. I don't respond to others blogs enough, and I begin to question why nobody responds to some of my posts.  Like, you're not busy, too...I know you are. It's okay.


In my class, I love to give power over to my students. I don't want to be on stage with an audience. I want to see what they can do, what they can create, who they can become.


In my writing, I want an audience. I want people to agree with me. I want people to disagree with me (well, maybe not too much). I seek affirmation of my thoughts and words.


When my students write, I don't always give them affirmation at the end. There is a rubric, there is a grade, and then what else is there? Class moves so fast, so much to cover, sometimes we don't take time to discover...who we are, where we are, where we are going.


So, day 10, why do I still write? I need to learn to write for my own growth. I am not a 12-year-old. I am a 43-year-old. I need to write for me, for my own growth. I need to write in order to continue to discover who I am, who I am becoming, who God intends me to be.


I need to write, so I will see the world as God intends me to see it. Here is what I've seen lately:
The luminescent petals of the pink azaleas.
The white light peaking through the morning clouds.
The horses grazing in the field, tails swishing.
A little girl plopping down next to a homeless man, sharing in conversation, as the homeless man shared bread with the girl and side by side they fed the pigeons. Unencumbered by societal expectations, this 5-year-old engaged this man with no fear and no judgment.
The sadness and stress on the face of a friend whose loved one is dying of cancer.
The house whose front window gets hit by the headlights of each passing car and wondered why the house was build that way and wondered what they think as the lights shine right in their living room.
I noticed the trailer park sign that read "Nebo Road Estates" and began to think of how to some people that small community, with a playground, and parents waiting with children for the bus, just might be their version of estates--and who am I to judge that?


Yeah, sure, I think too much. Thinking too much, that's who I am, and who I will always be. I need a place to let those thoughts simmer. I need to write about all these thoughts, so I can both contain them and release them, and so, I can continue on my journey with my mind open and my spirit pure (or at least, a bit purer than it would be without writing).







13 comments:

  1. Hi Maya! I found you. I think if you look through your post, copy & paste it & star all the different things you said that you will find so many topics to write about. Maybe you think too much, but maybe it's the other thing, you have much to say & will have fun taking it one step at a time. Here is one powerful line: "I need to write for me, for my own growth." I like that you are saying that, & then you showed such observations in the part where you told what you've seen. Terrific. I'll look for you again!

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    1. Thanks Linda. Much to say...you have much to say, too. I look forward to your looking for me again. LOL!

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  2. I have been told this very thing: you overanalyze everything! Who says that's a bad thing, right? Okay, sometimes we know it's a bad thing, we feel it's a bad thing. But when it comes to being a writer, it can be just the thing that leads you to new and unexplored topics.

    I love the details about the house with headlights coming into it and the "Estates" that might really live up to that name to others. I like your brand of thinking too much!

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    1. My brand of thinking---I love that. I might make a post about my brand of thinking.

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  3. Linda, I, too, thought several times as I was writing that I had several seed ideas. At the same time, I just needed to purge some thoughts. Thanks so much for your wisdom and feedback.

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  4. I'm 43 too and I have had many of those same thoughts. You don't sound like you think too much, you sound like a great, passionate, and normal woman. I love what you wrote about the Nebo Road Estates. Great thoughts! (Not too many thoughts, just great ones)

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    1. Thanks Deanna. Maybe we can have coffee together one day and ruminate together.

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  5. I loved your line "I am a introverted extrovert". I didn't know there were more of us out there! And--you need to keep writing because you over think things, because you need to analyze things, and because you need to grow. This community, this slice of life challenge has made me a better teacher of writers. Last year, I was a newbie too. I became a better teacher, a better teacher of writers because of this challenge. Hang in there. Even on days that you don't get many comments. It will be worth it. I promise.

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    1. I love how you caught that line and connected to it. Most people don't understand introverted extroversion. Thanks for your response, Deb.

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  6. I love how your writing process exposes your thinking. Last year, I participated in the challenge for the first time. I hadn't expected comments and was shocked to see them there. Then I found myself craving them and it altered my writing so about half way through the month I started posting late on the page instead of early - to challenge myself to just write. This year I'm trying harder to comment because I know how much it means to know people are reading.

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  7. Thinking too much gives your writing depth. I appreciate your honesty about your feelings.

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  8. You know I too am an extroverted introvert, I think its what has bound us together over the years, our need to actually connect with each other and share our thoughts and emotions, which you do so well with your writing. I am so proud of you..

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Thanks for reading my writing and sharing your thoughts with me.