Hello, Fellow Steemians!
I think everyone here has a little bit of “I want to change the world” in them. I think that’s why we’re here, to create and share interesting content with like-minded people in the hopes that it will be of value to at least one person. To build a community. To leave a meaningful imprint of ourselves in history and to help others do the same. To do what we can, with what we have, in the time that we’re given, to change the world.
It’s also why I became an English teacher. It certainly wasn’t for the lucrative salary or the “easy” schedule. I was driven by a passion, a fire within that burns too hotly and too fiercely to ignore. A passion to help people, to share knowledge and love of literature, to evoke enthusiasm, and to touch the lives in some way of every child that walks through my classroom door.
But I want to do more than just teach, I want to create things that may one day be taught. I want to influence and innovate, I want to explore and document, I want to help and to heal and to give my heart to the world. Just like so many of you.
In order to do these things, I need to follow the call of my soul. I am a wordsmith by birth and it’s a large part of who I am. I think it’s no coincidence that my name, Devon, means “writer of poetry.” And my soul calls me westward, specifically to California. To teach, to write, to paint, to create.
"I have an ocean of words trapped inside me
and the currents are so strong, I fear I may drown if I
don't release the floodgates,
don't release the words,
don't write."
-Devon Marie Ertle
But let’s be real-- California is expensive, student loans suck, teaching pays shit, and I’m broke and on the verge of being homeless. Nobody said the road to success would be a glamorous one and I don’t doubt at least some of you are very familiar with the struggle. Which right now is very, very real. As much as I would like to pack up and move, the dangers of crossing the country as a new graduate without a job, place to live, or a penny to my name terrify the living shit out of me.
But if we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting the rest of our lives. So here’s to taking leaps of faith, even if it means plunging into unbearable darkness, hoping for a safe landing but knowing it could end with a SPLAT! Here’s to a journey of written words exploring education, literature, psychology, sociology, spirituality, art, the universe, and this crazy rollercoaster ride we call life. I hope you’ll all continue to venture with me into the unknown as this girl tries to do what she can, with what she has, in the time she’s given, to change the world.
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Hello @deemarie ! I followed you and UpVoted you!
Very cool that you are here! Steem on!
I wish you happiness! You will be happy on SteemIt!
welcome, enjoy youself!
Thank you! I plan on it :)
welcome to steemit :)
Welcome to Steem :)
Thank you :)
Welcome to Steem @deemarie I have upvoted and sent you a tip
Thank you!! :)
I want to make this world a better place for all to live. It may look difficult, but with you and I, We Can Make It Real
Absolutely we can! Especially with hard work and a positive mindset :)
welcome to the Community, Deemarie:) Wish you much luck! Cheers! Follow me ...
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to building some connections and being a part of the community!
Good work, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for taking the time to read it! More to come soon!
Hi @deemarie welcome to Steemit, have a nice time ahead.
Thanks! I'm excited to be here!
Welcome ; )
Thank you :)
This post received a 1.9% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @iamjustincscott! For more information, click here!
Welcome to Steemit @deemarie, I have upvoted and sent you a tip. Check my blogs if you are looking for tips on how to earn more Steem and SBD.
Thank you so much! I'll definitely take a look at your blogs!
@iamjustincscott got you a $1.56 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)
Want a boost? Click here to read more!
Great post dreamer! 👏🏻😄Welcome to Steemit! I wish you all the best in this platform and in all your projects! You can count on me for anything you need. I send you a big hug from Argentina! @kryptoland 👍🏻😄🇦🇷
Thanks so much! I'm very excited to be here with all you great people! Sending you a big hug back from America~
welcome.
followed, upvote and resteem
Thanks! I appreciate it so much :)
Welcome new Steemian!! Looking forward to you blogs!
Thank you! I'm looking forward to sharing more stuff soon and being involved with this wonderful community!
Welcome to Steemit! Followed you
Thank you! I did the same back :)
Awesome! I can see your account is somewhat new but this was a good post. Have an upvote and I hope you will some day do the same!
As you only recently joined the steemit community it can be hard to recieve lots of upvotes so my advice would be to give Steemfollower a go as you can earn up to 5x more steem than just upvoting by yourself! It's a simple and safe vote exchange that is free to use. I made this post to explain the system in more depth and it has become my most upvoted post yet.
Wow thank you so much, I certainly will! I really appreciate the helpful information as well, I'm still getting the hang of how everything works around here.
@deemarie Welcome on steemit, Do follow me @samhenry & I'll upvote you.
Thank you! :) I followed you, hopefully you'll do the same back!
welcome to steemit! I look forward to your future posts :)
Thank you! I look forward to posting my content and viewing others' as well!! :D
Welcome Dee. I would say hang in there and put all your focus and might in what you know will get you to where you need to be...Theres a difference between feeling and knowing. My aunt is a teacher as well and man...she tells me all the time it is an exttremely stressful job. But she's so good at what she does. I wonder why you feel the west is calling you. I felt like Oregon was calling me once and then folks told me there's barely any black folks in Oregon. lol. I laughed to myself because at one point I live in the middle of Nowhere, Alaska and there were tons of black people. I just want o be comfortable...You know wha'ts crazy about being black with ambition...you could chase your dream but unfortunately this society still will always view us through a gray lens as a people...even if we're as great as we are. For you...I say keep pushing...get out of life everything that you set out for.
Thank you @geechidan I'm putting in the work little by little, day by day to achieve my dreams. Teaching is definitely one of the most underrated professions in terms of the disproportionate ratio of value to income and it's unbearably stressful at times. But I love it with every fiber of my being the same way I love writing and painting, and know intrinsically those are the things I'm meant to do. Comfort is definitely important, but discomfort has its value too-- don't forget that! I have no doubt that you will achieve whatever it is you set out for, too! It's unfair that minority groups are viewed the way they are, I will never understand it. But stay positive and I promise I will do the same! We'll both work towards our dreams and the community here, myself included, is always a support system to reach out to :)
Congratulations @deemarie! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPThis post has received a 5.01 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @iamjustincscott.
Nice post!
Welcome to Steemit :)
Thank you! :) I'm excited to be here
Welcome, my fellow co-creator! Come and dazzle us some more. Take us to your most vivid dreams and tell us stories of your great encounters. Someone, somewhere may just be waiting for your inspiration. Steem on!
I certainly hope to share all of that and more with all you wonderful people! Inspiring others along the way will just be an added bonus on this journey :)
Welcome to Steemit family, hope you enjoy it and love it. Following you to see you around. Go well....
Thank you, friend :)
Hey there! Welcome to the fastest growing monetized platform for bloggers and writers. You may find it easy to quit and not persist because it is tough here at times.
Nevertheless persistence beats luck.
We have invented the solution to making new steemians known on the frontier and not having to look like you are holding a bag over your head...nobody sees you get the point. Learn more here
Just follow now and for a limited time you get a discount on resteems: @thelifestyler. The link below allows you to get more payout on a post. (Tip #1)
Click here
Thank you for the helpful information! As the old adage goes.. never, but never give up!
Congratulations @deemarie!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:
Welcome to steemit. I hope you find the community here welcoming and that your contributions here help catapult you to the next part of your journey. The west coast is an alluring place and there are ways to survive in California while not having a ton of money, I have friends that make it happen. Good luck.
Thank you so much! I know it will be difficult, but where there's a will there's a way! And one thing I most certainly have is will power!
Happy to have met you here @deemarie, and I hope we can share much more poetry with each other. :)