Proof that I'm a hopeless expounder

Hear ye, hear ye. I have several important announcements.

Item 1: After long, tearful discussions with Noah and agonizing back-and-forth flip-floppediness, I have decided to officially go back to school. Since Noah got the permanent day shift, I decided that this spring I’ll take two evening classes at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (advanced non-fiction writing and writing methods) that, should I choose to pursue it, could apply to a Master of Arts degree in writing and editing (quite a unique program, incidentally).

Item 2: As a professional reader (which, if we’re being honest, is a major component of both writing and editing), I am remiss in not including more references to my personal reading list. That’s about to change. For one, you’ll notice in the right sidebar that I now have a “Currently Reading” and “Recent Reads” widget to let you know what’s going on in my reading-for-pleasure corner. Soon, I hope to reorganize this blog page a bit to include tabs at the top, one of which being for informal book reviews and (hopefully) discussion. And here’s why…

Item 3: In a way, I feel duty-bound to provoke more literary discussion in general life outside the coercive confines of a classroom setting. In short, I want to talk with you about books! Magazines! And, of course, where blogging fits in to the new literary climate of the world. Allow me a moment to stand on my soapbox and bellow about literacy. I think my opinions on the subject will explain why I find such value in blogging. Here’s an excerpt from the letter I recently sent to the folks over at UNCG talking about why I wanted to be part of the program:

Teaching is something I came to love as an English tutor to other undergraduates. I’m thrilled by the thought of helping people find their voices, mine their talents, and create thoughtful expression. Seeing my younger, college-student brother struggle to form his own opinions and express them in writing motivates me to reach out to others like him. My dream is to foster self-confidence in others so they can better value personal literacy. In my own experience, encouragement can turn a student into a scholar and skyrocket her ambition to achieve.

Item 4: Katherine Stone at Postpartum Progress, who has written on the subject of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders for Newsweek and BlogHer among many other arenas, recently linked to my New Year's Eve post in which I referenced my bout with PPD. I'm honored to have been noticed by and included on this important resource for women. Check it out.

Item 5: Blogging has been a creative outlet, an accountability partner for writing, and a way to join a fantastic new (to me) community. I’m only sorry that my misconceptions about blogging (namely, that blogs were electronic Dear Diaries) kept me from starting one before now. I have to attribute my change of heart to Dooce.com, a fantastic website and ultimately the portal through which I entered the blogosphere. Since then, I’ve connected with a number of outstanding bloggers, and I’d like to introduce you to a few. I believe this is what they call “Blog Love.” Click on the titles to go to the blogs.

Yes and Yes. The incredibly well traveled and supremely interesting Sarah Von was the first person I didn’t already know to leave a comment on my blog. Her posts are very useful if you want to become a cooler, more fun and spontaneous person. Her job (an ESL teacher) is near and dear to my heart and makes for some hilarious anecdotes. She’ll be traveling in Bolivia for a few months and has asked me to provide a couple guest posts. I’ll let you know when to look for them!

All Things G+D. I love the way D presents life on her blog. Style, humor, home decor and of course wine are frequent topics. But the way this girl writes about daily life, you’d be confident she’d succeed as a sitcom writer.

Costume Diva’s Dirty Laundry. This is a hometown girl who now lives in New York as a theater wardrobe supervisor. Um, perhaps the coolest job ever? Oh, and did I mention…she was Noah’s girlfriend in middle school. They went to Europe together (on a school-sponsored student trip, with Noah’s sixth-grade-teaching mom organizing and chaperoning the whole thing, but still).

M&M. Melanie is a military wife and the daughter of one of my mom’s good friends. We’ve never met in person, but have become bloggy friends. The fact that our moms read both our blogs keeps things honest. At least for me. Mel seems way to sweetly funny to be as inappropriate as I know I’m capable of being.

There are numerous other blogs that I enjoy regularly, but these are the ladies I’ve come to “know” best. Hopefully I’ll be adding a blog list in the sidebar in the not-distant future, so I can give a shout out to some of my other favorites.

Let the discussions begin!!