What does it mean to be true blue?
Truth is supremely important to me as a knowledge seeker, instructor, family member and engaged person on this planet. Sometimes this truth seeking is helpful and leads me to new ways of thinking and opportunties. I am currently seeking to understand many new pieces of technology while taking on an exciting and daunting job as the Innovation Center Director at a school that doesn’t really have an Innovation Center in place. Yet, so far I feel closer to my true self in this role than I have in most other jobs.
As a family member and engaged person of the world, the truth is beautiful and ugly and often hard to take all at the same time. At times, I have been overwhelmed by harsh truths. When I was teaching in inner-city Chicago, I was disheartened by the circumstances and daily struggles of many of my students. As a family member, I have found truth to be a bridge and a divide. Being my authentic self with my family helps me to feel secure, honest and open. However, on occasion I have sought truths in my family of origin that were hard to take and left me feeling emotionally crippled. I have learned about boundaries through my truth seeking, but I am not deterred. I continue to strive for open, truthful, challenging pursuits in all areas of my life.
Blue means something to me. It’s my favorite color. It reminds me of the vast blue waters that I love, especially the expansive Lake Michigan that I’ve lived near in my hometown in Michigan and in Chicago, Illinois for the majority of my life. “Blue” is also the camp name I chose for myself the summer that I met my husband at a family resort in Sequoia National Forest.
As the color of calm, blue describes how I strive to be (and often am) in most situations. If I’m teaching and a student is out of line, I respond calmly and matter of factly. I endeavor to do the same with my own children, but I struggle with calm more in this arena!! As the middle of five (now adult) children, I have regularly taken on the role of calm, peacekeeper in my family of origin.
Blue is a synonym for sadness. As someone who’s sensitive and feels things deeply, there are times that I have felt deeply “blue” about family situations, lives of students or other people I know, or my own challenges and limitations. I have learned about myself during these times, which resulted in new habits, unexpected perspectives and improved self-care. Running has been part of my self-care routine for years. An open, blue, nature-filled space is my favorite place to put one foot in front of the other and let my mind go. This is one way I find the calm side of “blue.”
Being true blue in my work in this class is my overall intention. I was going to say “goal”, but with a focus on process, intention seems more fitting. I want to put forth my authentic self by deep diving into assignments that scare me a little. To be honest, my blue eyes grew x10 as I read through the syllabus and initial assignments and saw references to things I’d never heard of — -FlashLab, FlipGrid — and didn’t fully understand the details of what is expected. Just like truth, I love details so I will be doing some extensive exploring as I unpack EDT 598!