Bringing the Inside Out

The day of my high school graduation, approximately twenty years ago, a friend of mine gave me an unexpected present: a notebook “to write about your high school memories” she said. A Photo album, a bouquet of flowers, a jewelry box, or a special ornament were among the list of presents I had in mind. She knew I loved reading and always did the writing assignments. She may have assumed that writing was easy for me, but it wasn’t. That night I got home late, exhausted. However in the middle of the night my friend’s voice echoed in my mind and remembered her sparkling eyes saying “You can do it!”. I looked for the notebook everywhere. I did not remember where I put it…It laid forgotten on the couch. I opened it slowly, looked at the white paper for a while, held the fancy pencil it came with, wondering how it could help me express my thoughts, and feelings. I did not know where to start, what to say. Finally I decided to write about that special night in my life, my graduation. The thoughts expressed would be for myself alone. At that time I did not conceive the idea of sharing or talking about my writing. It was more a private, solitary and usually risk free activity for me.

“Living the life of a blogger” completely changed my conception of writing. The very moment I posted my first blog for “ Writing in the Digital Classroom” I have not only been challenged to bring the inside out , but also to be aware of the large audience residing in cyberspace. I am not still confident in my ability to present and share my ideas, but I know that I need to be courageous and take the risk every time I post a new blog. Blogging demands some research, long hours and lots of thinking. Fortunately, reading experienced bloggers and following my own classmates' blogs inspires me to persevere.