Writer's Diary #1
Semester's end, Substack rec, and the first of many changes
If you didn’t already know, I currently work as a high school English teacher at a private Christian school. This time of the semester is rather hectic, but given that today is the first day of finals week, I actually feel pretty good. I’m tired, and I have a lot to grade, but I’m nearing the finish line. In addition to the relief that brings, I am also being upheld by a sense of contentment and satisfaction. In part, this sense comes from the kind words of several students who were generous enough last week to share openly how much they enjoyed my class and how much they appreciated me.
Most memorably, at the end of last week two of my favorite students (yes, I have favorites) told me that though they had never liked reading or writing, they loved my class. They said I made everything so interesting and engaging.
These words meant the world to me because I heard my own voice in them calling out to me from my past. It was at their exact age, as a high school junior, that I discovered a love of English and literature, all thanks to my English teacher, Mrs. Losego, who made books come alive. I’d never experienced the vivacity and dynamism of literature like I did in her class. It was the first time — and after experiencing it, nothing was ever the same. So much of who I am and what I do today — including why I’m teaching English — finds its deepest roots in the encounters I had with literary beauty and joy in Mrs. Losego’s classroom.
Will these two students of mine become ferocious readers or develop insatiable literary minds like I did? I don’t know. But I know I’ve accomplished something far greater, whether they’re aware of it or not: I’ve used storytelling (and Aristotle) to bring them to the threshold of beauty. And that could save their souls.
The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
-Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
From the Church Calendar
Monday after the Third Sunday of Advent Ember Week Feast of the Expectation of the B.V.M. 2023 A.D.
From My Reading
Every time my Substack inbox populates with a new post from Stumblings, my day automatically gets better. There’s much to praise, admire, and enjoy about this publication (written by homeschooled senior, Ruby LaRocca). Maybe I’ll get around to sharing those thoughts sometime, but for now I’ll just encourage you to go and check it out for yourself.
Keep in mind that posts have been set up to disallow any likes and comments. This is the author’s own personal choice, and it’s quite honestly one of my favorite qualities of the publication. If you feel the desire to converse with Ruby in any way, you’'ll need to email her. (What a novel concept!)
Some Thoughts & Stories
I played a 45-minute game of UNO last week with three of my students. The four of us have made it a habit to play each day during the Strategic Games club that I’m in charge of during the school day, and we’re keeping tallies on how many times each of us has won. That game could’ve easily been worth several tallies —especially given the fact that the winner (Josh) had previously reduced his deck to 1-2 cards a dozen-or-so times, only to be Draw-4’d right before winning on EIGHT different occasions. He deserved that W through and through.
Writing Updates
Lately, I’ve failed to publish much of anything on Orthodox Pilgrim. I’ve been in a troubleshooting phase, trying desperately to find the kink in the system that keeps putting me so behind on all my writing. Honestly, much of the issue might lie in the simple reality that I work as a teacher and have two very young children to raise while also investing in my marriage. All worthwhile things, but it's all admittedly time-consuming too, leaving little to no time for writing these days. On top of that, I think the kind of writing that I’ve been trying to publish has been holding me back. It takes a lot of time and effort to craft the creative, reflective pieces that I like to publish — and, as I already said, I don’t have a lot of time available to write.
Out of this dilemma came the idea for my “Writer’s Diary” as I’ve chosen to call it. The continuous series of posts will consist of compiled ideas, updates, feelings, articles, etc. that have been on my mind and would like to share but that often have no intrinsic connection to each other. This kind of writing is more casual and a lot more piecemeal than my creatively crafted reflection meaning that it’ll cut down on the need to extensively revise or edit. In theory, that enables me to publish a lot more frequently without needing extra time — and more importantly, without diminishing the quality or integrity of my reflective pieces which I take very seriously.
This is the first of several changes to Orthodox Pilgrim that I’ve been planning. It is not the most significant, but in contrast to the other pieces of the puzzle it’s a change that I can implement immediately without the need for extra time as I just stated — a huge logistical plus.
Closing Out
We’ve come to the tail-end of Advent, and I’m looking forward to the Christmas season just around the corner. However, I will surely miss Advent. There’s something sweet about holy expectation, about that sense of longing so sacred and un-graspable that heals the soul. C.S. Lewis called it joy — the insatiable satiability of possessing what we desire precisely by the absence of it — and I quite agree with him.
O Adonai, come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
I love this combination of teaching, writing, and the church calendar. It's a crazy tension, but what a beautiful life!