Year-End Reflection: Teaching, Reading, and Writing

Oh hey, it’s me! I definitely didn’t forget to actually write blog posts for the last 6 months, no no no no no.

Okay, I did. But to be fair, life can be kind of hectic, and I do have a proven track record of being terrible with this blog. So this shouldn’t seem like anything entirely new. With it being the last day of 2022, what better way to get back into it than with a reflection post (these definitely aren’t overdone at all).

2022 was a weird year. On the one hand, things finally felt like they were starting to return to normal – students were attending classes normally, I wasn’t as worried about going to the store and getting sick, and family and friends were out doing social activities – but on the other hand…both my wife and I got COVID. So, you know…fun times.

If you hadn’t guessed from the title, I’m going to break this reflection into three sections: teaching, reading, and writing. Since these are the big aspects of my life (that I’m willing to share on the internet, at least), it seems appropriate to reflect on each one and how they went in 2022.

Teaching

Education, I think, is going to be the least happy of the three sections. It seems unlikely that this would be a shock – I know not one single educator who would call 2022 a “good” year to teach.

It is true, there were some really great things. 2022 was the first year where things started to settle back into ‘normal’ (whatever that means): students were attending their classes in-person again, I wasn’t teaching virtually at all, and in general practices from pre-pandemic were returning into place. I’m lucky in that I’ve gotten to teach a wonderful group of students two school years in a row, and I worked with phenomenal educators who make life much, much easier. When I’m actually getting to be in the classroom and teach, I am having the time of my life.

2022 was also a year where I seriously worked on trying to leave the profession. Perhaps that’s shocking, writing openly about trying to leave my job, but I also highly doubt that my doing so comes as a surprise. Because, in truth, while many aspects of education returned to a sense of ‘normal,’ the reality is that the pandemic has changed us – educators, administrators, and students – in ways that make returning to that normal a really poor choice. 2020 revealed that online learning, while messy, could provide immense benefits to certain populations; greater emphasis on social-emotional learning while also balancing rigor was actually a really good thing; and that the removal of standardized tests was not going to end the educational system as we knew it, instead providing great boons to the mental health of both students and teachers. Yet, despite this gained knowledge, those in positions of power forced everyone to try to return to the way things were before. There was a greater emphasis in 2022 on regaining the ‘status quo’ than using our newfound wisdom to improve education for everyone involved. Add to that the tragedy in Uvalde (and the continued lack of real changes that brought with it), and by the summer I was fully disillusioned with education as a whole. I still am, really, though now perhaps I have the grit to persevere and continue simply for the love of my profession. Is it healthy? Probably not. But it is where I am at. I know not whether 2023 will see me leave teaching for good – part of me hopes not, but the other part of me just wants to be properly happy with my work.

Reading

Well, that was somewhat depressing. So let’s focus on something much, much happier: reading!

2022 saw me read more books than in any of the last 5, completing 41 novels in total (not counting several books that I began reading but DNF’d)! I could have read more had I been more consistent about it over the summer, but honestly I’m just glad to have gotten back into reading. What was my favorite? Let’s break that down!

So not every book I read in 2022 was released in 2022, so for my rating system (and because I’m stubborn and don’t want to give it to just one novel), I’m separating my favorites into two categories: my favorite book that was released in 2022, and my favorite book not released in 2022.

Favorite Book Released in 2022

Witchlings, by Claribel A. Ortega!

This was a delightful read – while I enjoyed her previous work, Ghost Squad, I found Witchlings to be much more my jam.

Favorite Book NOT Released in 2022

So You Want to Be a Wizard, by Diane Duane!

This is what I like to call “an oldy but a goody.” I actually first read this book back in my elementary school years, and Duane’s writing was one of my first forays into proper fantasy. And what a foray: her writing is not only filled with wondrous craft and fun characters, but the story is one that is simple on an epic scale. My wife is now hooked!

In general, most of the books I read this year were either middle-grade or young adult – since these are the categories I myself write under, it serves me well to read books that are similar. I’m looking forward to reading even more fantastic literature next year – onwards!

Writing

My writing was somewhat all over the place this year. I started 2022 by taking a draft I had completed the previous year, completely upending it by changing the perspective from third-person omniscient to first person (and reducing it from three POVs to just one), and then stalling on it for months. I finished a fanfiction I had initially begun in 2020 as a sort of joke. I started writing a new draft to a story while on a cruise ship, then later completely scrapped it and started over several months later, and after writing down the ideas to three more drafts, I’m about halfway through a proper one I’m really excited about.

All this to say: there is no correct way to write. Could I have been more disciplined and focused? Absolutely! But when I look back on all that I wrote this past year, I’m really happy with it. Even if nothing is finished and polished, there are several solid frameworks that I’m excited to continue to develop.

If there is one lesson to be learned, it is that you should do what makes you happy. The world right now is a mess – I don’t think I need to tell you that. There’s enough reasons to be stressed. And while I do eventually seek to be published (which, on that note…keep your eyes on this blog in 2023. There might be some news 👀), I’m also already working a full-time job that requires much of my attention. Stressing out over “oh no did I write 2k words today” or “these words are so messy, I need to go back and edit them RIGHT NOW” isn’t helpful.

So if you’ve read this far, heed this one piece of advice: just write. Write messy. Write perfect. No matter what it is, just write. Because words that are in your head will only ever be there until you put them down. And yeah, they might not be perfect, but…what is?

Final Thoughts

2022 was a weird year. There were many good things, there were many not-so-good things. But as I worked on this post and really reflected, I can’t help but think back fondly on it. I grew a lot.

So here’s to 2023! May it be weird and awkward and wonderful.