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On Hold

 

The Viral Candidate – On Hold

              I really don’t want to run for office. I’m an idea person, not an implementation person. I have a lot of ideas that I think would do a lot of good. I realized that all the political candidates have done something “noteworthy” in politics or life before trying to run the country. This feels elitist, but also ensures intelligent, capable people are the ones running. Or maybe those are the people who refuse to run because our political landscape has gotten so toxic. With that thought, I want to finish some of my ideas and do something larger than being a high school teacher before I try to imagine a national political campaign. Therefore, I am putting the Viral Candidate project on hold for a year.

              I have been trying to find a way to build a platform and have done so with little guidance so far, and little success. The only accomplishment I have in writing is one book being published by one of the nefarious for-profit edges of the literary landscape. This unaided and ignorant journey reminds me of my main character in the sequel to the published fantasy novel. Since a couple students were kind enough to read my book this year, their enjoyment of the story and excitement about the next one was the push I needed to refocus my energy on my oldest project: I created the World of Phinea in college about 20 years ago, and the first novel is the only public product so far.

              I have also wanted to make the world a better place for my students especially, but people everywhere. I know that our past defines us, but our future is our choice, and I know we are capable of much better outcomes than we put up with now. I want to share that vision; this year so far I have thrown a bunch of things out there to see if they would stick, and nothing has. Trying to find oneself through the internet is an exercise in frustration, no matter how many years you have lived with it. Those that have been successful are the exception, not the rule. This is explained by an economic principle that the market for our attention has a limit, our waking hours in this case, and therefore only so many people can win the competition for our attention and likes.

My focus has been scattered, which doesn’t help matters, and I need a focus so I can check at least one project off my list (there are 5). Since my life as an educator had led me to dream of an education system that doesn’t hamper the abilities of our children, but fosters them, and I enjoy telling stories, I want this to be the focus of my work for this next stretch of life. I’m going to retire the Viral Candidate long before she had a chance to become viral. Maybe she’ll be back, but for now I’m going back to my original loves.

I am announcing my 365 days, 2 books, 1 goal writing campaign. In the next calendar year, I am going to finish the two projects that seem the most important: continuing the fantasy series and improving education. Both works, Finding Home and Band-Aids on Bullet Wounds, have a completed outline and at least 30 pages of text. I’m not starting from scratch, which is why I think I can finish and publish both in the next year. I am taking a break from classroom teaching, though I am still an educator on campus. This frees my brain to focus on my creative writing and not creative lesson plans. I will still read books and be inspired by real people, but will direct my energy intentionally to explaining a world where people live their lives without harming the lives of others and creating a space for neighborhoods to return and children to love learning again.

All my internet pieces (podcast, blogs, etc.) will be based on these projects and their progress. I would love to hear feedback from my readers and the random person who somehow stumbled on my ideas through the dense forest of internet searches. I want to make my ideas work for everyone, and I know I can’t think of everything (though I feel like with saving education, I have). For this piece, I ask anyone who reads this to comment on the one thing you would change most about education, and the thing you liked the most about your experience.

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