Oh my gosh I have a website! I built a website!
Well, sort of.
One of my major goals for this summer has been to build a website that represents who I am, what I’m doing, what I hope to be doing, and most importantly, that is a place where I can share stories and ideas.
As some of you may know, I left my beloved job as a high school English teacher to pursue the next set of dreams that are calling me. I’ve always felt it’s a good idea to leave before you have to, and ideally to leave a job before you get bored or start really sucking at it.
As a teacher, for 16 years I encouraged my students to go for it, stretch out of their comfort zones, envision their lives a few steps ahead of where they are now, and especially to be way braver than I was in high school.
Because I was a bum in high school, let’s face it.
So in an effort to practice what I preach–and to keep having exciting, thrilling, terrifying times–I left a wonderful gig, in a place I love, with people I love, to do I’m-really-not-sure-what yet.
It’s scary!
About six months in, I found myself saying “Reinvention is not for sissies” to anyone who’d ask me how I was doing. One of my girlfriends hardily agreed, and followed up with, “Good thing we’re not sissies!”
Exactly.
Well, back to the website.
I knew I needed one, and back in the spring I bought the domain, set up the host server (I think that’s what it’s called) and watched the first 27 minutes of a 1 hour and 45 minute Youtube video on how WordPress is the best and easiest and most popular way to build your own website.
Then I didn’t get back to it until July.
One weekend, totally ready to finally commit to it, I sat down, the perennial student, ready to figure out how to do something I never did before.
I was reduced to tears within half an hour.
I hated myself, felt like a loser, not smart enough to figure this out, people asking me if I was using SquareSpace. “It’s so easy!”
Again, the perennial student, I heard myself crying into the abyss, “I can’t do this!”
Then, after a fair amount of sobbing and self loathing, I reminded myself that this website was NOT OPTIONAL. I felt like I hadn’t accomplished much concrete this summer. This I absolutely needed to finish. I was on deadline.
One way I know I’m a writer–because yes, sometimes I doubt–is that I absolutely LOVE, THRIVE ON, and basically CAN’T GET ANYTHING DONE without a deadline.
So I steeled myself and did the next obvious last resort of the desperate. I posted a plea on Facebook.
Now, this is only an obvious last resort because part of my life I live in a small town that’s actually a huge community. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started a Facebook post: “Does anyone in the area know….”
Within a short period of time I had two recommendations for the same woman, I called her, and reader, she helped me.
I still can’t make the site do everything I want it to do, but it’s all set up and customized, and most important, I now I have a place for which to write.
Stay tuned for more stories and postcards from the edge of reinvention.
Love you all!
#buildingawebsite #reinventionisnotforsissies #websitebuilding #personalwebsite #mynewblog #iquitmyjob