Feeling Joyful about the Work
July 17, 2026 – Do what you love… and love it!
Oh my goodness… I have so much gratitude. I start this blog reflection, sitting at my desk at home, on a sunny day, and the warm breeze seeps through my window onto my face. Can it get any better than this? I also love that I choose to maintain a reflective practice via blogging and my portfolio. Often, I would refer back to my websites to see what I have done to update my CV, but also track my thinking and ways of being as I move forward in this pedagogical journey I am on. I am learning so much, and I am grateful for the mentors, friends, and family along the way who have been part of this journey, and I am excited for new people who I will meet along this path. Admittedly, the journey has some dips, some rough patches, and well… FAILURES… of which you learn and grow from. There are also successes, wins, and JOY!! Thank goodness. 🙂
Of course, I had to add an image of my updated Bitmoji to this blog post. I took the time to revise my digital image for the fall term, but also, I got my hair cut, I’m wearing Crocs, and the outfit includes a hoodie. Can this get any closer to who I really am in cartoon form (without using gen AI). I updated my Bitmoji while my kid was at a meeting and I’m sitting in the waiting room. Fun, right? Anyway, I love that these images, like Bitmoji, are more reflective of who I am and how I feel. This journey of self-discovery or self-actualization has been a long one, and I am feeling much more comfortable of who I am and what I have to offer to the world. It feels great, and somewhat rewarding to move through the world as who I am, and not what I think that people want me to be. This pedagogical journey started in 2010 when my world literally took a left turn. Ever since, I’ve been peeling back the layers of who I am or who I thought I should be to discover who I really am, what I love to do, and why it’s important to me. I am feeling grounded.
“You don’t know what you don’t know… until you know.”
I said this statement above at a recent meeting in context to mentoring, asking questions, and feeling informed. How can one navigate a new way of being, a new place, or a new orientation when you don’t know what you don’t know, and thus know what or whom to ask. I have also learned recently, and in a hard way, the only person who cares about your life or career is YOU, so don’t depend on others to get to where you want to be. It’s all up to you. Finally, at at doctoral oral defence, one of the committee members read part of a poem that spoke about the unknown, knowledge, and the journey. Basically, you can run to the edge of the pier to realize that there is a large body of water still in front of you. The poem passage was a lot more eloquent, but the imagery of that was definitely impressionable. I love that though. Looking back, being the youngest of three, I was always taken care of. Now, I feel very grateful for that. However, I did forage forward in FEAR… fear of the unknown… fear of failure… fear of success… fear of not belonging. The last one is a doozy, so I navigated through life doing what I thought others thought I should do and disregarded my wants, needs, and intuition. I did not belong to me.
But, now I know. You’re not going to know what’s out there, but you have to try and find what works best for you. Rejection is only feedback to say… hey, not this way. I’m good with that. For a long time, I tried to compromise and cater who I am so that I could be accepted by others. Let me tell you… that’s not sustainable. What’s sustainable is being ok with yourself, accepting yourself, and belonging to yourself. Do good work, do what you love, and love what you do. Although I did not think I would ever do what I get to do, I am doing what I want to do… and this is only the beginning. Understanding this limitless and unforeseen opportunities make me hopeful and optimistic. I am worthy. I have value. And, I love what I do. That’s all that matters. I often wonder about the paths we take, the decisions we make, and what we learn from these experiences. My friend calls it karma. It’s hard to believe that I am making decision as I blog and it will impact what will happen to me in the future. That kind of freaks me out, but on the other hand, if I am aligned and authentic, all should be good. Now, I am in a solid place of HAPPY. I am slowly but surely working on my physical self and enjoying the process, but mentally and spiritually, I am on track. My mantra has been of late is… “one step at a time.”