Writing opens up Worlds

Nobody believes me when I say I am shy.  I seem chatty and outspoken, a go-getter, a performer, even a Pied Piper with ethics.  I was the child who saw the true Emperor's New Clothers and could not resist shouting out the truth.  All of that is true.

But the spoken word takes a lot out of me. I need to go home to the silence of my house and recharge. 

I accomplish a lot but nobody can sleep in on a Saturday as well as I can. I don't mean exactly Sleep In-- but I can stay in my nest with books and paper and cats and a beautiful view from the window and just be in perfect bliss.

I am shy, but I love people. I love watching folks at train stations and shopping malls. I love listening to stories of older people and reading books about how people lived long before my time. I love learning languages and trying them out on new friends. I love seeing someone's eyes light up.

So I step out of my comfort zone. For two weeks, tonight is my last night with the three cats and my multitude of stuffed animals. For two weeks, tomorrow morning is my last morning looking out the window to that special branch where neighborhood squirrels jump from one tree to the next.

I am about to go on an adventure. I am about to go farther east than I have ever been, farther east than my parents have ever been, and father east than my Eastern European ancestors lived.

Sometimes I pause and ask myself "How did I get involved with this?" 

The answer generally is: "It seemed like a very good idea at the time."  But really it is that I believe in stepping out of my am comfort zone. That's where growth happens, and that's where some of the best connections are made. 

"How did I get involved with this?"  In part by writing.  I write. I love to write. I start writing and I find out who I am. I find out what I believe. 

I am a shy person who believes in people.

And I wrote essays, lots of them. Some got me to research at Emily Dickinson's house. Some got me to travel to Space Camp. Some brought me to Uruguay or Poland. And some of my essays earned me a grant to travel to the Mideast. Kids, take note: Writing helps you see the world. 

As I wrote poems and essays, I began seeing more that the Poland trip was important for me because I wanted to change the world NOW than because I wanted to understand the world THEN. I love learning about the past and trying to make sense of humanity. But I need a purpose for learning about the past: to help people now and beyond.

So I wrote diaries and blog posts worrying about the refugees, wishing for understanding across cultures, questioning my own understandings. 

I spilled my heart out in an essay about my sixth grade teacher and his passion for the Mideast. 

And somehow, I was selected to go to the Mideast. The mission is perfect for me: STEM, schools, and cross cultural collaboration. The teachers I'm set to travel with sound amazing! And I have so much to learn about the Persian Gulf states. 

So, I'm hoping that pen remains mightier than the sword. Off I go to Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Travel with me through this blog, if you wish.

I am much less shy in writing than I feel in real life!