Goodbye 2016

The new year is upon us.  Inevitably it is a time for us to reflect on what we've been through, and what we are going to accomplish. So what does 2017 mean?  It's a special year for me. 2017 marks twenty years that I've been out of high school.  Twenty years.  What does twenty years look like?
In twenty years I've found an amazing partner in life.  I've became a mother, I've bought a house, sold a house.  I’ve gone to college, dropped out of college, re entered college.  Earned an Associate’s Degree, a Bachelor’s, and an MA.  I've gone on countless job interviews, lost jobs, and landed my dream job.  I've written plays, stories, I've been published.  I've performed on stage, I've directed.  I've cried a lot...and laughed even more.  It's been a hell of a ride.  I wonder what the next twenty will bring?
Every year I look forward to the next year...I do it as a classroom exercise, and I do it here in my blog.  Why?  Because it's my blog and I can do that.
So without further adieu…

Name: Shannon, Mom, Mrs. McLoud
Favorite Food: Chocolate
Age: 37…
Favorite Activity: Reading and writing
Favorite Color: Pink!
Favorite Book:  This changes all the time.  For now on I am going to post the favorite book I read from that year.  So for 2016 the book I read which will be deemed my favorite of the year is Bossypants by my spirit animal Tina Fey.  I felt like she just sat down and wrote that book for me.

Highlights of 2016

Greatest Lesson Learned
That when I work hard and only worry about myself, it will pay off.  This year I had immense responsibilities at work. Thought that I learned that not everyone takes their job as seriously as I do.  And instead of harbors get anger over it, I just picked up their slack and continued in.  And it paid off!

Hardest Thing This Year
Leaving a school I loved to work at, where I was comfortable with my colleagues and administrators, to go to a new school where I knew no one.  I was devastated leaving my friends, and nervous beyond belief on my first day...but I survived!

Favorite Memory
In a year that was so difficult for so many, I was fortunate to have so many wonderful memories.  From taking Brady to his first play at Trinity Rep, to a quick family trip to NYC...there are a ton to choose from.  However, my favorite has to be the day I crossed the stage to receive my MA in English Lit. It was a day I had worked hard for, my son took it upon himself to decorate my cap, and we took the day trip to Manchester, New Hampshire.  My best friend, my son, mall took the time out of their weekend to watch me walk the stage.

What I Loved About 2016
In a year that was so disappointing on so many levels for so many of us, I did have quite a few happy memories.My career.  I have found myself living my dream job; teacher leader for a high school ELA department, drama club advisor...and let's not forget that I teach 9th and 10th grade students...my job is amazing.
Finishing my MA! What an accomplishment!
RTC!  I loved watching our little theatre company flourish.  We had three plays, and a short film.  I loved co-writing so many pieces.My return to acting.  I've been staying away...unless it was a small part.  I got back on the horse in 2016.  So glad I did!
Writing for Motif.  I saw a ton of great shows-I even interviewed Adam Pascal. It was a cool year!

Looking Forward to 2017

Want to Learn
How to cook.  Actually I've given up on that!  I would like to learn organizational strategies for work. My desk tends to look like a hot mess by the end of the day!

Want to Get Better At
Having a life September through June.  I feel guilty spending time during the week on anything that isn't school related.

Goals for 2017
Before I set goals, I like to look at last year’s goals.  So let's see...did I make theatre in 2016?  Well that's one goal I did hit.  I was involved in productions a lot last year.  However...I'm not running and my novel remains unpublished.  This tells me that I need to make more “Shannon time”.  Time where I'm not Mom, or Mrs. McLoud.  So my goal for 2017 is to take some time for me. In 20 years I'm so different and still the same? If 2016 taught us anything, it taught us this: life is too short.  We need to go out there and create.  To go out there and live and love-and then record it in our stories.  So many people are leaving 2016 behind, exclaiming "don't let the door hit you on your way out!"  And if that's the way you feel, you have an obligation to do something about it.  Create your stories.  Maybe they're good stories, or bad stories, or stories so riddled with grammatical errors a red pen is in demand...but they're your stories, and they must be created.

A Note About Celebrity Deaths

As 2016 comes to a close I sit here with the knowledge that three additional greats have left us.  As many people said, these come in threes- starting with George Michael, moving onto Carrie Fisher, and now Debbie Reynolds.  

And as we peruse our social media pages looking for more information, old clips...solace even, someone undoubtedly posts; don’t we have bigger issues to read about?  (Although I have to be honest my page is full of more “Save Betty White” than anything else!  But seriously go check on her.)  

To that I have two things to say; first the death of someone, no matter how big they are, is never a small thing, and two isn’t it possible to care for both?  

Can’t I worry about the future of education in this country, while recognizing, and dare I say grieving, that a well loved celebrity who tore off the closet door has left us?  

Can’t I cry over Aleppo, and also mourn that a strong woman who taught me that looks don’t make the girl is gone too soon?

Don’t I have enough tears to spare?

I don’t see myself, or my friends, as shallow.  I find these people, and all people really, in love with something.  In love with stories.  Every movie, every book, every song, tells a story.  And we revere those storytellers.

And why wouldn’t we?

Earlier this year I wrote (in the sad little four posts I wrote) that we need art.  And seeing that storytelling is an art, it bears repeating.  Storytelling keeps us going.  

All the awful things that happen in the world, where do we find our escape?  

In movies about galaxies far, far away, and in songs that are so tied in with the holidays that they bring up memories without even trying.  

In tales about magical lands, or a little town in Alabama.  

In comedy that changed the genre, and people who blazed a trail.

Storytelling keeps us going.

Mourn for those storytellers that are no longer able to tell their stories. And DON'T be that person on social media making fun of people upset over Princess Leia, or Bobbi Adler. It isn't a case of celebrity, it's a case of storytelling. And we all need a story now and then.