Our Words at Work Porject Vlog #3: Formia

OWAW Project Vlog #2- Tuscany

Here is Vlog #2 from my Lilly Grant trip!

The following footage is from my time in Tuscany, I spent most of my time in the town of Castiglion Fiorentino.  It is a gorgeous, and lesser-known Tuscan town near Arezzo.  I spent 9 fantastic days attending the Cary Tennis Writing Workshop. During my time there, I attended a cooking class, visited Assisi and Florence, and ate a copious amount of gelato. 

 I learned a lot about writing and a lot about myself. But mostly I learned that to be a writer, you have to WRITE. I know that this sounds stupid, but the hardest part, for me, is making time and prioritizing my creative side and writing voice. So in the words of the wise Shia Labeouf (and Nike) , JUST DO IT! 

Our Words at Work Porject: First Blog/Vlog Post!

It is currently June 22, 2016. I am sitting in a 100-year-old venetian style bed. The Italian read comforter on the bed is flanked by a brass headboard and footboard. To the right of bed is a set of long, thin French doors that open out to a private balcony that looks over the Mediterranean Sea.  Our (my mother and I’s) room faces the ocean, but had we also been so lucky to be in a room that boasts a balcony on the opposite side of the building, we would have had an equally majestic view of the mountains. We are in Formia Italy, a little seaside town south of Rome that even many Italians have not heard of. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me back up a bit. Let’s back up 12 days to the beginning of my trip and the crossing of the pond (AKA the longest 48 hours of my life!)

I somehow managed to fit 35 days’ worth of clothing into a carryon piece of luggage. It was definitely hard deciding what to pack when I knew I was facing 90-degree weather in Rome, 70-degree weather in the UK and 40-degree weather in Iceland! But I decided to pack for the happy medium of 70 degrees and resigned myself to being just a little too hot in Italy and just a little too cold in Iceland.  I hopped in the car and Sam drove me to the airport.

On the way to the airport I cried. Now let’s be real, I am an easy crier. I cry multiple times a week (just a couple tears)- mostly in response to something I find touching, or pitiful, or terrifying, or adorable, or devastating, or invigorating…… I think you get my point.  Anyway, I cried because I was going to miss Sam and my dog, and my friends, but mainly Sam. And Sam gently reminded me that I was, in fact, about to fly to Italy, to spend time with my mother, walk ancient cobble-stoned streets, eat homemade pasta, and attend a stimulating writer’s workshop. He also reminded me that I would see him in a short 14 days, in Rome.  With that logic, I couldn’t help but agree, so I hopped out of the car at the Indianapolis airport, quickly kissed Sam goodbye, demanded that he send me daily pictures of our dog, and headed off to catch my first flight to New York where I would meet my mother.

The first two Flights went off without a hitch. I flew to NYC and met up with my mom and then the two of us flew to Toronto where we would catch our flight to London. Unfortunately, this is where our luck ended. Check out the Vlog (Video Blog) below to see how our trip unfolded. (Sorry about the poor editing- I only have time to throw all of the footage together and call it good!)

-Kelsey

PS-I know that the dates are off and this was uploaded the 25^th not the 22^nd but it wasn’t until now that we had a strong enough wifi signal. Enjoy!

The Exciting Stuff

I have ONE WEEK until I set off on my trip. I will be gone for 5 weeks, WOW. I have had a lot of people asking where I will be going and what I will be doing. So as a way to quickly get the word out, here is my trip, in pictures ;).

Italy: 

Castiglion Fiorentino



Assisi
 

Formia


Rome

England-

London-



The Cotswolds

Scotland

Melrose Abbey



Dunnottar Castle
 

Eilean Donan Castle


Scottish Highlands-


Edinburgh

Northern Ireland

The Dark Hedges


Carrick-a-Rede Bridge

Ireland

Cliffs of Moher




Blarney Castle



Cork


Dublin

Iceland

Reykjavik


Gullfoss



Skogafoss
 

Fjaðrárgljúfur




Well, there is my trip in pictures! Now I realize that everything probably will not be as picturesque as it looks in these professional tourism photos, but I would bet that everything is still just as amazing :).  ONE WEEK. Whoohoo!

-Kelsey

I am Not a Quitter.

I played softball from the time I was 4 to the time I was 14. That is 10 years of softball, almost a third of my life. It was a sport that I was actually good at because it did not include a lot of running- Hallelujah! As it turns out, if you hit the ball hard enough, you can take your time getting to first base.  Softball was the only hobby I had managed to hold onto for more than a year.

I was a quitter. By the time I was 14, I had quit more hobbies than most kids had the privilege to begin. I quit gymnastics (I would much rather just twirl my ponytail in the mirror). I quit Jazz Dancing (I started in the middle of winter and it was too cold to leave my house). I quit summer theater (I was too old for it).  I quit singing lessons, town choir, and church choir (all the other kids took it way too seriously). I had even been kicked off of my 2^nd grade soccer team (umm running. No thank you). And I knew I was probably about to quit band too (I did a year later). 

The summer before my freshman year of high school, I decided to quit softball. I had recently taken up an interest in tennis, a sport I had never played before, and unfortunately Branson’s girls’ tennis and softball season were at the same time. So I had to choose one, and I wanted to choose tennis. Again, I found myself a quitter. I wanted to quit the ONLY hobby I had ever stuck with and I was terrified of telling my parents.

 My parents had invested thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of supporting softball. They paid for me to be on local teams and traveling teams and they paid for me to have the best bats, gloves, and uniforms. They footed the fee for all of my tournaments and paid for a trip to Andy’s frozen custard after every Springfield game.

My dad coached my team every single year I played, and it definitely WASN'T because he loved being surrounded by small screaming children. He would take me to the empty softball field during the off season and hit me ground balls and pop flies. He even tried to teach how to properly run once (he didn’t like that I had gotten in the habit of galloping around the bases. But hey! At least it was faster than running!).  And my mother, well, she never missed any games. She always managed to scrub the dirt and grass stains out of my pants, organize the snack schedule for the team, and she dutifully nursed my black eyes back to health every time I got hit in the face during a game.

 My parents had invested 10 years of time and money into softball and I had to tell them that I was going to quit, again. I wasn't terrified to tell them because I was terrified of them; I was terrified of disappointing them. They cared so much, and I was nothing but a quitter, a disappointment, a waste of time.

But I did it. I told them. I honestly don’t remember telling them, but I do remember what happened next.

That summer, my mother signed us up for tennis lessons. She said that we would learn how to play together, and we did. And my father, he signed us up for a co-ed doubles league. Did he know how to play? Nope. Did we even own a decent tennis racquet at the time? Nope. Were we the only ones in that league under 70? Yep. Did the elderly couples ask if we were married Every. Single. Time? Yep. But he did it anyway, and we got better, together.

By the end of the summer, I knew what a backhand was. I knew what “Australian doubles” was, and I actually knew how to keep score (Seriously. Who came up with tennis’s confusing scoring system? The Brits? Yea, definitely the Brits).  And not only did I make the tennis team, I made Varsity.

I stuck with tennis all throughout my high school career. I had a blast, met some of my best friends, and discovered a life-long love. 

 I am now on year 11 of being a tennis player (today I beat my husband 6-4 in a match J ). I finally made it past my 10-year record. 

I am officially not a quitter.

So thank you mom and dad, it took me 11 years and a new perspective to realize that you weren’t investing in softball, you were investing in me.













*Shout out to my sister, Kassadee for being forced to attend 14 years of softball/tennis games.

I'm Going on an Adventure!

I'm going on an adventure!



It is March 22 and in exactly 80 days, I will get on a plane and head off on a 5-week adventure.
I cannot wait to spill all of the exciting details, but before we get to that, I need to fill you in on how this trip was made possible.

Last summer, I spent over 40 hours working on a Teacher Creativity Grant. I spent most of my time at the Avon Public Library where I got to know the librarians very well (And where I witnessed a couple of teenage boys setup Bluetooth speakers on the bookshelves and proceed to play the soundtrack of a few "adult films" LOUDLY. My poor librarian friends were scrambling after that one). Anyway, On August 22nd, I shipped my application off to Lilly Endowment Inc. And on January 7th, the  foundation notified me that I had been chosen among the 100 educators in the state of Indiana to receive $12,000 to pursue creativity and inspiration.

Although I am certain that every one of you wants to read my 9-page application in its entirety, instead I will summarize my project in 50 words. Cue the cheesy title and overuse of buzzwords!

“Our Words at Work”: Turning Words into Impact!: This project aims to re-ignite my passion for harnessing the power of words! I plan to re-trace the steps of history’s greatest European word warriors, attend a TEDx event to study modern word-warriors, and grow my personal writing skills through a writing workshop in Tuscany, Italy, and blogging.

So that is my trip in a nutshell. I am going to be doing 5 weeks of literary-inspired traveling. I will be going to Italy, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Iceland. I will be chasing creativity, renewal, adventure, and inspiration. I cannot thank the Lilly Foundation enough for granting (see what I did there?)  me a trip of a lifetime. I truly believe that when I return to the classroom in August, I will return an educator with renewed energy and passion.

I'll post more details about the trip soon!

-Kelsey