Everyone knows that one of the perks of being a teacher is having the summer off. Of course, I look forward to my summer vacation every year but when the craziness of the last month of school is over and all of a sudden I have very little to do, it is sort of a strange transition. I actually have to get used to having a lot of free time. I have to admit it's nice to get the house clean, relax outside on the porch, work out on my own schedule and read books that I've been looking forward to reading all winter long. However, when the rest of world is working and carrying on with their normal lives, some summer days can just get boring and lonely. So, when I'm not teaching and I'm not writing, I have to find some hobbies to occupy my time and keep my mind somewhat sharp. This summer, I started creating a few succulent arrangements. I'm not good at taking care of house plants and most of the ones I've tried to grow just end up dying. The beauty of the succulent is that it is nearly impossible to kill and it requires very little water. So, if I forget to water it for several days or if I go out of town, I don't have to worry about killing my plants. There is a wealth of information about succulent gardening online and I've gathered tons of information. What I've learned is that half of the fun of arranging succulents is finding unique containers for them to thrive in. I've been picking up glass and clay containers at thrift stores for as little as 25 cents. Another thing I've learned is that succulents can be easily propagated. I'm currently trying my hand at propagating succulents right now (you can see them in the photo on the left). Apparently all you have to do is break off some leaves and new roots and a new plant will begin to sprout. How cool is that? If all goes well, I should be growing enough to replant and arrange into containers so that I won't really have to purchase many more plants. For the past week or so I've been getting to know medium.com, a new blogging platform designed for writers. When I first dove in, I had some pretty mixed feelings about the whole thing. However, as I have explored the site more and more, I've discovered what a useful and, honestly, entertaining tool it can be for a young writer.
If you don't already know, Medium allows users to share "stories". They can be about anything, any topic, in any style, in any form. There is no word or character limit like there is on Twitter, so you can write your heart out f you so choose. You write your "story", publish it, and it becomes visible to the other users who can choose to follow you, recommend you, and respond to your work. My initial hesitation about using a site like this was that I immediately felt as though it was a place where writers were encouraged to just give their work away for free. And, in truth, when you publish a story on Medium you are giving it to the community for no monetary reward. Seems kind of disheartening, doesn't it? It may take hours, days, weeks, months, and so on to write a great short story or a great article. Shouldn't we writers get paid for our hard work? Of course my first instinct is to say "yes". Then, I started reading the stories. Most are well-written, well-researched, and thought-provoking. They are written by writers who, you can tell, care very deeply about their craft. Sure, there are a few stories in the mix that aren't as strong, but, on the whole, the home page is a delicious buffet of intelligent content. Scrolling through and reading the stories on Medium doesn't feel as silly as browsing Buzzfeed, as intrusive as scrolling through the news feed on Facebook, or as random as checking Twitter. In fact, for a person with a true love of reading, it can be quite addicting! All of a sudden, using Medium didn't seem to be about giving away my hard work for free. It was more about being a part of a community and contributing to something meaningful. For that reason, I've decided to continue to use it. As of now, I've only published one of my short stories on it, but I hope to post more soon. In the meantime, I will savor the words of of other writers, like myself, who have families and day jobs and other responsibilities, but still make the time to write. |
Rachel Boury BaxterWriter: web content by day, fiction by night. Archives
October 2016
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