I started writing this blog about a year ago (my first post was on February 26th, 2014. I came across a few SOLs in March 2014 and thought it sounded interesting, but my blog was too new for me to feel like I could jump right in at that time. I’m really proud of the fact that since March 2014 there have been 17,066 visits to my blog and 28,986 hits, but I want to continue pushing myself and growing. Now that it is about a year after seeing the first SOL posts, I finally feel like I am ready to rise to the challenge!
For most of the past year I was posting thrice weekly, recently I’ve slowed down a bit and only post twice a week. I have also tried to stick to my topics of expat/international teacher life and travel. The SOL challenge is for people to post once a day for the 31 days in March. I’m not sure if I will be able to stay on topic AND complete this challenge.
Even though March will be a really busy month for me (report cards, International Day, and I plan on hosting another international teacher one weekend this month), I want to push myself to write everyday because I want to become a better writer. I would love to hear any comments, questions, or thoughts that people might have for my blog to become all it can be.
Wish me luck!
Teaching Wanderlust 
It sounds like you have had quite an exciting year! This is my 5th or 6th time participating in the Slice of Life Story Challenge and like you I approach it with both excitement and apprehension.
Even now, there are a million things I need to be doing and this feels a bit like a luxury that I shouldn’t indulge. At the same time, I think that it’s one of the most rewarding experiences to really write daily and find the story in the simple, everyday details of life.
Best of luck to you!
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Thanks for the comment Amanda!
It will be hard because I don’t feel like I have a lot going on in my life here, but I hope that this experience will help me realize how amazing my life really is. 😉
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As you read other blogs, you will see ideas that you might want to try out too. Just by writing you will grow and change. So, welcome to this challenge and enjoy it.
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I love reading other blogs, especially blogs written by other teachers. Teachers love to share their ideas and learning so I get tons of ideas from other blogs. I’ve never really thought about it for improving my own writing though. Thanks for the idea!
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I can’t wait to see how you share about your life experiences through SOL15! I’m a new blogger AND a new slicer! Glad to know I’ll have others to follow in this exciting, but unknown, adventure!
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Wow Jenn! Way to jump right into things! I think I would be way too overwhelmed to start a blog and a challenge at the same time.
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Haha! Sometimes I have to jump in way over my head! Otherwise, I’d never jump 🙂
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I forgot about ‘twowritingteachers’ so, thank you for the reminder. Yes, you should write about what you want on your blog. If you are not sure about mixing it up, you can always start a new one 🙂
Personally, I’d go crazy if I could only write about one or two things, like teaching in Thailand. Then again I think you are much more passionate about then I am. Either way, let us know what you decide to do!
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It really helps that I love international teaching and traveling, but now and then I want to write random posts and resist the urge because it is “off topic”. Maybe this challenge will push me a little out of the box.
Lani, will you be participating in the challenge?
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I don’t think so. Just from the look of it, I’d have to get my classes involved. Maybe I read it wrong? In any case, I have a poetry class that I’m going to be starting up with in a couple of weeks so I don’t want to be stretched out. And you? Have you decided?
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There are three Slice of Life challenges Lani. One is for individuals for the month of March, another is just for Tuesdays, and the last is for classrooms. I’m not ready to have my third graders involved yet- maybe next year! I am going to try my best to do the individual challenge this month. Wish me luck!
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Oh, okay, I knew I was missing something. Thanks for the link!
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Hi Amanda,
Welcome to the sol challenge! I’ve been part of it for the past few years, and I always grow so much as a writer and more importantly, get to know the amazing community of educators! It’s always nice to meet other fellow int’l school teachers. That’s really great that you had so many visitors on your blog in a year!
–Jee Young
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Thanks for the comment Jee Young! I always feel like teachers in the US have these awesome blogs, but I don’t always connect to everything they are doing. International teaching puts a different spin on things and it is nice to be able to read stories that are similar to my own.
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The thing I like about the SOL challenge is that you can try out different writing styles, genres, and topics each day. While you typically write about travel and being an expat/international educator, try stepping out of your comfort zone this month. Try a poem, or tell a story with pictures, something different. 🙂
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Those are great ideas! I love to read poetry, but I am always nervous about writing my own poems. I would definitely feel more comfortable telling a story via pictures, but I guess the whole point of this is to push ourselves to get better.
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Try poetry- I used to be afraid, but I find trying to write from a mentor text to be approachable. 🙂
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