Writing | oliviaobryon

Jul 01 2012

Keep the Pacific Northwest Weird

I figured out last night why I like Olympia so much. It’s weird. Good weird. The walls are covered with amazing murals, the bars and restaurants are a mixture of kitsch, nostalgia and hipster. It is working class, industrial, but also artsy, green, alive. In short, I like it. And, did I mention I have an obsession with murals? I even found myself navigating alleyways full of broken glass to find more, (it was safe, I promise). Ironically, I expected Olympia to be less interesting, just a stop to make for the roller derby bout.

Speaking of which, those girls know how to have a good time. Truthfully, I threw in the towel around 1AM and walked my grandma-self back to the hotel. By that point, the Jersey Shore beats in the club we somehow ended up in were just a little too much for me. I can only fist pump so many times before I lose interest. I think I reached my lifetime limit. And, while I was asked more than once if I had any tattoos, I managed to avoid getting any, which is an accomplishment given the abundance of establishments and my not-so-secret desire for one.

Today we are headed for Portland. Instead of Keep Portland Weird, I think it should be Keep the Pacific Northwest Weird. If it were not so darn overcast up here all the time, I would move in a heartbeat. There is enough weird in the Pacific Northwest to keep me writing for a lifetime.

: Four teachers outside the Prius

: Hybrid pegasus unicorns, definitely cool.

: This love declaration reminds me of something from an indie teenage flick. I found it oddly endearing to imagine the story behind it.

: Every nerdy teenager’s dream mural, amazing!

: This may have been where I encountered the broken glass…

: Groupie status.

Tagged Olympia, Pacific Northwest, Portland, Roller Derby

Jun 29 2012

Sweet, Bluegrass

My mom cooks,

My stepdad gardens,

Bluegrass plays for the plants,

For a friend they lost today,

A song of death.

The lone whistle of a rumbling train,

Howling, Moaning, Calling–

Ophelia in her eternal pond,

Me, with bare feet upon the earth,

Small wildflowers,

Tickle my toes,

I drink the fleeting song

Of man and earth,

I am alive.

Tagged Bluegrass, Death, Mt. Shasta, Poetry

Jun 28 2012

4 Comments

Teaching, Writing

Is it a Teacher’s Freedom of Speech to Blog?

This morning, a concerned friend emailed me an article about a teacher in Philadelphia fired for the content on her blog. While I appreciate his concern, I am not going to stop blogging about teaching. He raises an interesting point, though. Where does the line between freedom of speech and overstepping your work boundaries fall?

To me, it seems pretty obvious that you do not talk poorly about the administration at your school. That would be about as smart as calling your boss an a-hole on the internet. Likewise, I would never write about hating a student or their family, even though I might write vaguely about my frustrations as a teacher with said student or family. For me, the trouble arises when you start to draw the line in the sand. If one comment is not protected under free speech, then is the next teacher going to be fired for expressing frustration instead of hatred?

I think it is absolutely essential that I have the right to tactfully share the good and bad parts of my job. Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, teachers get bashed in the news left and right for being lazy complainers, (what, we only work nine months out of the year, right?). I consider it my little contribution to the teaching world to speak up and share what my job is actually like in hopes that maybe a couple people begin to see teaching differently. After all, education will not change unless people know what it is like for teachers in American classrooms.

To be honest, I had no realistic vision of teaching until I started doing it, so I do not expect others to understand unless they listen to our experiences. Not only do teachers work far more than their contractual obligation to be on campus from 7:30AM-3:30PM, but they also put up with a lot of pressure to successfully teach every kid. Now, if you’re a teacher, I hope that is your goal, regardless of the pressure, but it still does not take away from the reality that there are factors outside of a teacher’s control that make this battle extremely difficult, even if the good teacher continues to fight it everyday.

I’m sure if you read my blog, you already pick up on those nuances of teaching, but that is one of the main reasons I risk catching flack; I want to give an honest insight into the realities of my profession. However, that’s not the only reason I write about teaching. My other, equally-important reason for speaking up is because it helps me survive an extremely stressful job. By sharing, I make connections with other teachers that help me feel far less alone and inspire me to keep teaching, to push myself to be a better teacher, and to try new techniques to help my students.

Now, when it comes to the teacher fired in Philadelphia, do I think it is fair? Maybe, I don’t know all of the details. But, whether I agree with her choices or not, it does make me worry that her situation has opened the door for more teachers to get in trouble for their blogs. Will it make me stop blogging? Absolutely not. Instead it leaves me fiercely committed to my first amendment right to share my experiences as a teacher. Probably not what my friend was going for by sending me that email, but still grateful to him nonetheless.

Tagged Blogging, Constitution, Education, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Politics

Jun 27 2012

Eavesdropping on Young Vagabonds

In order to post my blog, I have to go to a coffee shop in Mt. Shasta. Dial-up won’t even load the WordPress homepage. This may seem like a pretty ordinary act to access the internet from a coffee shop, but in Mt. Shasta it is anything but ordinary. Like so many places heading into the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Shasta is a pitstop for young vagabonds and its coffee shops are their headquarters.

Someday I hope to really write about them, to ask them questions and listen. Until then, I’m just enjoying eavesdropping at the coffee shops here in town. I’m learning where the best exits to hitch a ride are, watching as they hit on each other, uncertain if they’ll ever meet again, hopeful maybe to join forces and face the big bad world together. Many of them seem lonely. I watched one young backpack-clad man walk up and down the main stretch three or four times, his eyes and quick smile filled with eagerness to talk to someone, anyone.

I will always remember a different kid with eyes like my brother’s, sitting on the street corner in Portland with a sign asking for money. It was hard to look at him, so young, and not wonder what brought him to that corner. I do not think he would have wanted me to feel sorry for him, I think instead he would have wanted me to understand his story. In the words of someone on the fringes of this life, “For some, it would really be death to their souls to go back to wherever they came from, for others it is just a way to travel.”

Either way, I want to learn their stories.

***

Today’s Mount Shasta moments:

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Tagged Homeless Youth, Mt. Shasta, Vagabonds

Jun 24 2012

16 Comments

Life, Writing

Because I’m a sucker for promoting other blogs…

Alright, I’ll be honest. This whole blogging award chain deal gets a little under my skin. First, I find it exclusionary. I follow a lot of great blogs, so it’s hard to narrow it down to 15 to share. Second, it feels an awful lot like bragging to say look at me, some other blog thought I was great.

However, I really like the blog that nominated me, and I think it’s always nice to share good blogs, so I’m doing it even though I’m internally conflicted, (kind of the story of my life, right?!). So, I’ll just start by saying thanks Aneesa & Faraaz, it’s nice to be noticed and supported in this gigantic world of words! I hope that my little rant in the opening didn’t take away from my genuine humility in being noticed, it is a very nice gesture, thank you.

Now for those pesky rules, what am I supposed to do next?

Oh yes, that’s right, mention 7 random things about myself:

1. Wow, this is harder than I thought. Let’s see, my dog is named Simon because my husband did not want me to name our kid Simon, but now he loves our dog so much that he says we should name our kid Simon, but I refuse to name our kid after our dog, funny how those things work, right?

2. If we get another dog, we plan to name him/her Garfunkel as in Simon & Garfunkel because it makes us laugh. I feel like Garfunkle is going to have to be a big dog.

3. My senior project in high school was learning to race and work on muscle cars. My dad bought me a ’92 5.0 Mustang GT. Gosh did I love pulling up next to fast cars at stoplights in that bad boy. Engines revving, men/boys ready to race until they saw little old me behind the wheel. Hilarious. I outtalked a lot of boys about cars at school. One chick even wanted to kick my ass because I told her my car could beat her boyfriends tuner. Memories.

4. I was fully enrolled and ready to attend law school out of college but backed out when it was time to sign the financial aid agreement. Working for a lobbying firm pouring through briefs left me unwilling to sign away six figures of my future earnings to student loans. Ended up a good decision, I think.

5. I once auditioned for a travel show and got called down to LA to sit in front of a panel of producers. They did not like me. They kept asking me about my boyfriend and how he felt about my desire to be on the show. I think they wanted us to break up. The worst part of the audition was when I teared up telling them about my favorite travel moment because it was so moving for me, I felt like a raving lunatic. Then I started to tell my worst travel moment and realized it was not PC so edited midway through and blew it. Sigh. I guess it is better that I finished my last quarter of college instead.

6. One of my secret life aspirations was to be an actress. I’m not sure why that embarrasses me now, but it does. I even got cast in this super low-budget local indie film that wanted my character to be in a rape scene at the end of the movie. I insisted it would have to be implied because I was not being raped on film, ever, low-budget or not. Thankfully the whole thing fell apart before anything ever came of it.

7. I’m a Leo, but not sure I believe in any of that. Just felt like a fitting number 7, like hey, what’s your sign?

Now for the fun part that I actually signed up for, promoting great blogs. Truth be told, if I included all the blogs I really loved, this list would be a lot longer, so bear with me if your amazing blog is not on the list, (who am I kidding, you’re probably only reading this if your blog is on the list!). In no particular order:

1. http://educatednotdomesticated.blogspot.com (This Sac teacher has awesome taste and great tips for the classroom!)

2. http://betweenfearandlove.com/ (I really enjoy this mom/writer’s inspirational posts)

3. http://covetotop.wordpress.com/ (This Spanish blogger uses their blog to practice English and takes amazing photographs of Spain that make me long to travel!)

4. http://runningmylifemyworld.wordpress.com/ (Awesome teacher/runner with a positive outlook on life, exercise, & the classroom!)

5. http://shethoughtoutsidethebox.com/ (Beautiful photographs of Berlin that leave you feeling like you escaped to a much cooler world and curled up inside all of its amazing places)

6. http://neuroticnancy.wordpress.com/ (Teacher, friend, liver of life speaking honest truths about the world and daily experiences)

7. http://kingmidgetramblings.wordpress.com/ (Sac writer musing on all aspects of life and writing)

8. http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/ (Good escapist fun with a travel-loving, adventure-seeking couple)

9. http://welcometograce.wordpress.com/ (A teacher/writer that is a speaker of intensely relatable truths!)

10. http://hopeengaged.blogspot.com (One of the truest Christians I have ever encountered. She walks in other people’s shoes to help them and lives life with an admirable kindness and optimism. And, she loves to travel, which doesn’t hurt either!)

11. http://newtotheorleans.wordpress.com/ (Okay, this blog just straight up makes me laugh out loud– this teacher captures the truths of her students and life with incredible wit!)

12. http://drawntostyle.blogspot.com/ (Fashion designer and artist extraordinaire that encapsulates life in little uplifting snippets.)

13. http://allaccesspassblog.wordpress.com/ (Intervention specialist and new blogger with highly relatable teaching stories that leave me feeling motivated to try new things in my classroom, as well as much less alone in my experiences as a teacher.)

14. http://19eighty8.wordpress.com/ (I admire the honesty and vulnerability of this Sac blogger, she’s not afraid to put herself out there, which I think is pretty awesome).

15. http://cristianmihai.net/ (Good old fashion writer’s blog with good insights and advice to keep you writing.)

Wow. I started out thinking, no biggie, I’ll just grab 15 blogs and realized that it was quite the process to wade through my reader and select 15 to include. In retrospect, not sure I would do it again, so let those be my words of caution. Hopefully if you’ve stuck with me to the end you’ve found a couple new ones to check out!

Tagged Blogging, Versatile Blogger Award

Jun 24 2012

2 Comments

Family, Life, Writing

Blog Birth Announcement!

Turns out the aftermath of staying the weekend with me is that you start a blog of your own. Announcing the birth of a new blog belonging to my very own kid sister. I have to say, she’s pretty darn poignant for her years:

http://felizlife.wordpress.com/

Weekend w/ me = Concert in the park, time with the world’s best dog, coffee, basketball, running, and, oh yeah, a new blog!

Tagged Blogging, Sister, Summer

Jun 20 2012

1 Comment

Family, Life, Writing

Through 16-year-old Eyes

Sixteen was magic, that first year where everything started to come together. Tastes of freedom, independence. A momentary eternity, I once wrote.

My little sister is now there, or almost. Only a couple weeks to go. Thirteen years apart, the gap between us is slowly closing. She was the baby, the reason I could not watch R-rated movies. Now, she is a source of depth, wisdom, and laughter. Although, I guess she was always a source of laughter, possessing humor beyond her years. My little sister is the glue that bound us all together. She makes us one gloriously happy, rambunctious family.

The other night I caught a glimpse into her soul, listening to her recite poetry. She is an artist, not only with words, but with pastels, watercolors, you name it.

I picked this one to share because it reminds me of me, thirteen years ago. Life at sixteen is full of angst and wonder.

These are her words, not mine:

We used to dance through the field like feral butterflies.
Our wings grew and our cat feet lifted off the grass,
wind blew us side to side and kissed our bare cheeks.
Our mouths opened wide and we could see everything
as we let our laughter fill the dry air, making music with the birds.
The sky tasted strong and sweet,
like being held in Grandma Jo’s soft arms and under her warm gaze
in the frigid air conditioning of our Mckinney house.
You and I strutted through those halls,
because we were the coolest people we knew.
But we weren’t really cool at all.
But, still, we grew up
to do a new kind of dance
in the poorly lit, poorly ventilated hall
full of unknowns and familiars
all pulsing and numbing to the elegant drops of Dubstep.
Because they were lost, they knew exactly what to do.
Because they were blind, now they could see
the red hot sweat of rage and passion
filling their lungs and coating their eardrums.
We were the abstract hand prints painted on young, wet skin,
lit up only when the lights went out.
And with daylight we walk, undead,
with crusty eyes through walls and over buildings
and drown in coffee just to get by.

Kat knew, she had seen it all
and what she hadn’t seen would soon be her reality.
She was led down paths and to her fate
on candy leashes and with designer treats.
She had to lose herself to know who she never was.
Todo va a estar bien.
Porque eventually the skies would go back to business as usual
and the sun would lean down and brush tears from her eyes.
And lay us both back down in the neon grasses
in a bed of feral butterflies.

Looking at the world through her eyes…

Tagged Art, Artist, Nostalgia, Poem, Poetry, Sister, Sixteen

Jun 20 2012

1 Comment

Dogs, Family, Life, Pets, Teaching, Writing

Will Teach for Time

I am a collector of things you can cannot touch. Words, pictures, memories. Right now my focus is summer. Today is day 13. I do not know how many days remain. Enough, I guess. I refuse to count for fear they will disappear too quickly.

I would lie if I said that summer had nothing to do with my decision to become a teacher. However, I could not teach if I did not like the work. Ten months of misery would not be worth two months of freedom. Instead, summer is the perk that makes the pay more tolerable, helps me through those days with angry parents, makes me smile when my classroom is in upheaval. In my past work life, I discovered that time is worth more than money.

Summer is time. Time to refuel. Time to reflect and grow as a teacher, wife, friend, human being. Time to do the jobs that do not pay but feed my soul. Time to write.

Everyday I am asked by people who do not teach, “How is your summer going?”

Splendidly, I respond. I’m actively collecting all those little moments that will get me through the inevitable challenges of the coming year:

Listened to my sister’s high school poetry night, got lost in words, some funny, some sad.

Sunflower in Fair Oaks with my husband, he rode his bike seven miles to meet me. I drove in an air conditioned car.

Veggie burrito, healthy, much tastier than it looks. While other moms took their kids for Happy Meals, mine took me here. We’d feed the chickens and play in the park. I developed a fear of roosters.

Veggie nachos, probably the winner, but don’t tell Alex. He gloats too much when his choice is best.

Sunday dinners with family, swimming, eating, happy.

My birthday came a little early today, make that a month and a half to be exact. My sweet husband bought me a new recorder of words, which I’ll put to good use. The irony of marriage, I’d tell him not to buy it if he asked, but I’m grateful that he did. And, yes, that is the cat you see on our dining room table, maybe you should rethink coming to dinner, I’ve given up on chasing her, at least today.

Much like the dog, I’ve also lazed about. Recharging is required to be a happy teacher. Scratch that, recharging is required to be a happy human being.

Tagged Happiness, Husband, Sacramento, Summer, Sunflower Drive-In, Time, Work

Jun 18 2012

6 Comments

Writing

Blogging and the Writing Process: My Evolving Mass of Words

Blogging makes the writing process different. It is faster, without the ongoing revisions and drafts that other writing generally entails. For me, this is sometimes challenging. I find myself wanting to obsessively reread everything I post, hung up on word choice, grammatical errors, and length, realizing ten minutes after I walk away from the computer that I left some gaping hole for all to see.

While this can feel very vulnerable, blogging can also be the rare opportunity to just get your words out, perfect or not. For me, it is also an exercise in moving away from perfectionism, something necessary to improving my voice as a writer. And, it provides the opportunity for instant collaboration that does not always occur in the regular drafting process.

As such, I’ve decided to be brave about blogging my pitch for my query as it improves, (or worsens, depending on the day). I am working on it bit by bit as I digest feedback and finish polishing my manuscript. The feedback is amazingly helpful, gradually resulting in a transformation that I am excited about, (even if somedays I totally mess it up as part of the process).

So, if you’re interested to watch this evolution, I will keep editing here:

https://oliviaobryon.com/2012/06/16/drafts-and-drafts-and-drafts/

I am not so self-absorbed as to imagine that people care to watch it change, but somehow its existence as an evolving mass of words in a public space is liberating for me.

Tagged Blogging, Novel, Pitch, query, Writing

Jun 16 2012

9 Comments

Writing

Drafts and drafts and drafts

As mentioned in newer posts, this is my evolving (or devolving, depending on the day) description of my novel. It is a work-in-progress that will hopefully come together once my book is officially ready to submit. If you have any helpful suggestions, I am always excited to listen.

Expecting Happiness

Kristen and Jake used to be like many other young married couples. Despite their love for one another, they somehow found themselves stuck in windowless cubes, trudging to meaningless jobs, grasping for purpose. That is, until a failed pregnancy changed everything.

Acutely aware of their unhappiness, Kristen and Jake say “Fuck it all.” They quit their jobs and sell their house to embark on separate journeys. Instead of traveling together, they seek time apart, unwilling to compromise their visions of self-discovery. While Jake, a lanky but attractive runner, heads across country by car, intent to live out his fantasy of solitude on the open road, Kristen, a self-conscious contrast of dark hair blue eyes, departs for Europe, searching for independence even as she inches her way closer to an old flame living in Paris.

New friendships, passions, and adventures abound along the way. Torn between the allure of the unknown and their unrelenting longing for one another, each must ultimately decide which life holds the secret to greater happiness.

Tagged book pitch, drafts, Expecting Happiness, Novel, query, Writing

Jun 15 2012

bird by cat

“I wanted him to have a regular job where he put on a necktie and went off somewhere with the other fathers and sat in a little office and smoked. But the idea of spending entire days in someone else’s office doing someone else’s work did not suit my father’s soul. I think it would have killed him… So I grew up around this man who sat in the study all day and wrote books…” – Anne Lamott, bird by bird

Two pages in and Anne Lamott already has me figured out. I’m adding this book, recommended by two of my lovely novel readers, to my small pile that I’m reading simultaneously, (Snow Child and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking). I think I must have a very advanced form of ADHD because I find myself alternating between reading multiple books, working on my novel, and blogging all within the same afternoon. I’m okay with it though. I like the writing that is coming out of all of this, even if it’s progressing slowly.