365 Inspirations—335: ELEVEN straight months of blogging...

Blogging 365 Lessons in 2010 at my father's house in Florida

“Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination and skill, what the world asks of you is courage, courage to risk rejection, ridicule and failure. As you follow the quest for stories told with meaning and beauty, study thoughtfully but write boldly. Then, like the hero of the fable, your dance will dazzle the world.”—Robert McKee

I've made it to December 1st. I cannot believe it. I've blogged inspirations for ELEVEN straight months. One month more to go!

I will say that doing this has helped me to see the positive. Blogging every day has helped me realize that even on days when I feel like giving up, running away, throwing in the towel, calling it quits, or hiding, there's a glimmer of hope.

Somehow I find something to write about.

Can I be my own inspiration this time?

I didn't give up, but somedays it was hard to get here.

I blogged right over Machu Picchu, found a way to blog when the internet crashed, blogged when I had jet-lag, blogged through final exams, blogged at airports, in hotels, on busses, blogged when there was nothing to blog about (but I still found something).

Writing everyday this year has taught me that I am in fact a WRITER. I can say it. I am proud of it.

And this is not my first year of blogging for 365 days. In 2010, I wrote 365 blog posts in the form of lessons!

I've taken most of those off my blog as they may become a book.

So that's almost TWO YEARS of blogging everyday.

That's 730 blog posts!

Will I do it again?

Probably not for awhile, if ever.

I think I'm ready to move on. I have BIG PLANS for the coming year.

I will let you know more about those soon.

Have you ever done anything for 365 Days? (Besides the obvious)

365 Inspirations—305: Paris

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”—Thomas Jefferson

I've never been to Paris, have you? I've heard so much about it, seen so many movies from there, met some lovely French people, but I can't say I know the place.

Tonight I went out with a friend. We started out at a Taiwanese restaurant called Fu Mandu and ended at a French Restaurant/Bar in the Greenwood area called Gainsbourg. There frites with aioli garlic sauce were to die for. My friend told me all about Paris and about several of her adventures there. We sat up at the bar and there were mini statues of the Eiffel Tower on the counter. The atmosphere was lively and homey at the same time. It was a perfect place to hang out on a cold fall evening.

In the background, they played avant garde, old French movies on a big screen. Every now and then an absolutely ridiculous scene would show up on the screen and I'd have to break our conversation to get my friend to look at the screen.

I think the best things about this evening were discovering a new place right in my neighborhood and spending time with my friend. That's the benefit of going out with a friend. Sometimes you get to see your very same stomping grounds through different eyes. Places you've never, ever ventured into or knew existed, become a whole new reality for you.

Today I saw the world through a Paris lens with my friend.

It makes me want to go there to visit, but I think I need to learn some French first!

Have you ever been to Paris, France? How was it?

365 Inspiration—71: Happy Endings

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.”—Frank Herbert

Well, I'm almost to the end of a quarter at school. We had registration and a party in my Tuesday/Thursday evening class. Everyone brought food and snacks to share. It was a great quarter again with wonderful students. I promised my students I'd put pictures up on my blog and some of them are excited to check it out.

I wish I had more days with the students. Meeting only two nights a week isn't quite enough time for them to get all the information. We had a good time in class and they all tried their best and that's the most important thing.

It's not easy to live in another country, learn the language, get a job, and survive. Many of my evening students have one or two jobs and have to come to class after they've worked all day. They come because they know English is important for them and will help them in their life here.

I'm thankful that I get to teach such great students and I often learn just as much from them! Thanks again for a wonderful quarter. I'm off now to go grade 35 tests for my Monday/Wednesday evening class. I need to get them done by 7pm tomorrow night, so I better get going!

Have you had any happy endings lately?