Twitter inspired my to write this morning. The first tweet is by Marcus Blair, but let me share some tweets by him before I get to the one that originally inspired me.

Marcus has become one of my favourite educators on Twitter. He shares tweets about what he does in the classroom and he reflects on his teaching and his interactions with his class. In a time when there is so much stress and anxiety, he shares tweets that I find uplifting, and that remind me why I wanted to get into education.

Here are 3 recent tweets by him:

With these longer blocks, I'm having students independently read twice. The first time is completely for pleasure & the second time has a focus behind it. While reading students take note of their author's moves: diction choice, sentence structuring, dialogue, etc.

— Marcus Blair (@MrBlairsClass) December 1, 2020

A game I invented for my ELA classes. And by invent, I mean completely rip off Scattergories.

Word Race has students think of sophisticated synonyms for notoriously basic vocabulary (ie. nice, good, bad, etc.) Honestly, students were hyped. A fun way to develop their vocabulary! pic.twitter.com/ioiO6fvJGk

— Marcus Blair (@MrBlairsClass) December 1, 2020

Today, I matched a reluctant reader, who "hates reading," with a graphic novel. She read for the entirety of silent reading and tucked the book in her bag before she left. I couldn't help but smile.

That was my victory today. That's why I do the job.

— Marcus Blair (@MrBlairsClass) December 2, 2020

The tweet that inspired me to write now was this one where Marcus reflected on his own writing:

Lately, I've been writing a lot in my own life: articles, blog posts, etc.

This act of writing makes me such a better writing teacher. I'm more confident in all areas of the craft: syntax, diction, etc.

Going forward, I must prioritize my own writing. My students benefit.

— Marcus Blair (@MrBlairsClass) December 4, 2020

I responded:

I’ve been blogging daily for a year and a half. I’ve loved it. Hard some days, challenging other days, but always rewarding even when I’m doing the minimum… to catch those moments that feel like magic.

— Dᴀᴠɪᴅ Tʀᴜss ∞β (@datruss) December 4, 2020

Then almost a couple hours later I read James Clear’s 3-2-1 weekly email and wrote this about one of the 3 quotes he shared:

This has been my mantra for workouts, meditation, and writing… even on those days where I’m just going through the motions. This matters most:

"The best exercise for gaining strength is not missing workouts."

–@JamesClear

— Dᴀᴠɪᴅ Tʀᴜss ∞β (@datruss) December 4, 2020

The act of writing makes me a better writer. The commitment to this act every  single day is itself a reward, making me feel like I’ve accomplished something before I even start my work day.

Yes, some mornings it is really hard to get started. There have been days that I’ve spent more time thinking than writing. Yes, there have been days when I’ve had to rush or even postpone my morning workout because I was too slow to get my writing started, or too long winded to finish what I was writing in a timely manner. Yes, some things I’ve written should have been left unwritten. But sometimes… sometimes my writing speaks to me. Sometimes it is metaphorically a song I had to sing. Sometimes the act of writing is a form of expression that leaves me feeling like I’ve added something worth sharing with the world.

For those moments I write. Not for the actual contribution I’ve shared, but for the feeling I get sharing it. Writing is my artistic expression. My keyboard is my brush. Words are my medium. My blog is my canvas. And committing to writing daily makes me feel like an artist.

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