It’s customary to reflect on the year you’ve completed. As I look back on 2020, I can’t help but feel grateful for many things. Mind if I share a few of them with you?
As you might guess, they are not all inclusive. You won’t see how much I missed not seeing anyone (except my wife), including my children, face to face.You won’t read of the time I spent shocked and dismayed below. In a real way, these items below kept me going in the face of the darkness that overshadowed 2020.
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a very small heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
Fortunately, there’s a lot I can be grateful. I regret that’s not true for others.
1) My Job
“Who would have thought in 2016 what would happen in 2020?” When I left my post as a tech director of a school district in 2016, I had no idea that COVID-19 was on the way and would require me to work from home. Fortunately, my job allows me that flexibility to work from home without endangering myself or my wife. It’s pretty darn frightening to consider that I’d probably have to turn to freelance writing, copyediting, or something like that to make ends meet if I had to stay home. I’m grateful for everything that led me to that decision in March of 2016. Nothing like a pandemic to put things in perspective.
I’m also grateful that my wife, as a school teacher, has been able to be a remote educator. It was a tough journey for her, full of tears but how amazing to see her rise to the challenge, to cry her tears and then jump into the fray for the sake of her students. How amazing to see her build relationships with her students, to be close enough to learn from her.
Another significant point has been how fun it’s been to write blog entries…this graph is one blog entry short. I actually achieved 100 blog entries in Y2020.
Check out my blog entry on Writing the List Article. I’ve had a lot of fun using my favorite writing tools, StackEdit MarkDown editor (free, cross-platform, browser-based) and Hemingway App, to write.
Here’s my video on StackEdit:
2) Video Editing
Over the last few years, I’ve known I needed to beef up my video editing game. I don’t care for spending hours editing video, but having to produce screen recordings for online courses has made it possible for me to learn so much. Most of that learning, if not all, I’ve poured into the TCEA Screencasting for Educators online course. It’s amazing how easy it is to do things with the variety of free, open source tools available to us. For example, who knew you could make OBS Studio create a virtual green screen with Zoom green background image, then put your face in a video background? Thanks to Dr. Richard Smith for sending the video how-to on that one.
Here’s a video I cooked up for OpenShot…
My standout tools for video recording and editing now include: Recordcast.com for short recordings (<30 mins) and edits, OBS for anything (I use it all the time), Shotcut or OpenShot video editors. What’s amazing is that all of that is free and I can use it Windows or GNU/Linux.
3) Online Courses
One of the acts I’m most proud of was moving fast in April and May, 2020 to setup online courses for purchase for school districts. I had a hand in putting several courses together quick.. Of course, I didn’t do that work completely alone…thank goodness for team effort. Kudos to my colleagues, you know who you are if you read this.
That aside, if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, I wouldn’t have acted on impulses and suggestions I’d made. The pandemic made online courses the only type of professional learning that made sense, and it was great to see global adoption of the online courses.
More important, though, was the fact that those courses have impacted so many educators for the positive. I’ve received many personal notes from course participants thanking me for the videos I recorded at breakneck speed in April and May.
It’s humbling to be a part of a non-profit educational organization that made a difference in the lives of over 11,800 people in a few short months. . .and that’s only the online courses. Again, nobody succeeds without a team, so thank goodness for the team.
4) Time Alone
While I know extroverts cried about being locked up, or worse, introverts with large extrovert immediate families, I have to confess how grateful I have been to find time alone. With an empty nest, it’s been wonderful to have time to wander the rooms of my house and explore nooks and crannies, to find new places to read or take a nap as crazy pandemic schedules allow. I’ve also had a chance to spend much of that time with my spouse, and alone time without interruption with one’s significant other is blessed. It reminds me of..
5) Authors to Read and Listen To
Wow, how wonderful it’s been to fill the quiet moments with fantastic stories. Of course, Jonathan Moeller has been one of the authors, but so has Guy Antibes, who I discovered had multiple five-six book series that I had to read. In my list below, you’ll see some asterisks. I encourage you to check them out first. If they appear on the Audible list, then make sure to listen to them.
Some of the other amazing authors I had the opportunity to read:
- Craig Alanson
- Michael Anderle & Craig Martelle
- Guy Antibes*
- Chase Blackwood
- Lindsay Buroker
- A.C. Cobble
- Jacqueline Druga
- Marc Alan Edelheit
- Kevin Hearne
- Alec Hutson
- M.H. Johnson
- Nathan Jones
- Steven Konkoly
- Aleron Kong
- Terry Mancour*
- Jonathan Moeller*
- Emmet Moss
- J.D.L. Rosell
- Derek Alan Siddoway
- Nicholas Sandsbury Smith
- Olan Thorensen
There are many other amazing authors I read this year, but these are a great list to start with. Of course,
I also listened to a lot of authors via Audible, so here’s that list as well:
- Craig Alanson
- Emma Berquist (Devils Unto Dust)
- Keith C. Blackmore
- Marc Alan Edelheit
- Michael Stephen Fuchs
- Stephen Knight
- Terry Mancour
- Dennis E. Taylor
I can’t imagine what life would be like without the opportunity to read this fantastic stories of zombies, space exploration, werewolves, wizards, Roman legions, and more.
6) Still Alive
I am grateful to still be alive. Human beings are fragile, and I’m under no illusions that something horrible isn’t looming on the horizon (or a mis-step down a flight of stairs). But there’s something to be said for being alive to say, “Thank you, I love you,” to your family members at the twilight of one year, and at the dawn of another.
There are so many people who didn’t make it through this year, whether because of COVID-19, the horrible treatment of people of color, and many other reasons. The staggering death toll of COVID-19 alone makes surviving 2020 an accomplishment, a decision to affirm life by being still rather than running around crazy.
So, friends, allow me to express my sincere gratitude for being here to thank you for all you’ve taught me this year, all you allowed me to share with you. As we look forward to tomorrow, I pray you will find in the new year, solace for what has been lost, and a sense of gratitude for what may be.
Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure
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