#Oneword for 2018 -- Disrupt

While I didn't formally declare #oneword last year, 2017 was a year of DISCOVERY.

I spent a significant amount of time this year finding myself and sought to create the best version of myself.  This included a lot of reading and reflecting on who I am and where I've been.  It meant letting go of things that happened in the past in order to re-discover a new me.  One of the greatest things about leadership is the ability to constantly challenge and re-invent yourself.  It also involved taking time for myself, whether that meant Andi date nights or trips to the mothership (the Disney Outlet in Gurnee).  This year unfortunately did not involve any trips across the country to either of my favorite Disney parks.

2017 was also a year of discovery in pursuing my faith.  Halfway through the year I decided to take the leap and join a church that I had been test driving for the past two years.  I hadn't been a regular attendee of church since my family left our church when I was in elementary school.  There were a few instances this year through prayer in which I found God calling me closer to my faith.

I also ran my first running series, the Chilly Willy Winter Running series and discovered a love for running.  My step out of my comfort zone run was the Harborview 8k in Port Washington (a race that happened to run through the middle of a pirate festival).  The entire time I was running on endorphins and my passion. It was an amazing experience.  Just a week later, after colleagues and friends asked when I was going to conquer a 10k, I signed up for the Rock and Sole Quarter Marathon that was held just days later as I signed up on a Tuesday night for a Saturday race.  I figured making the commitment late would prevent me from talking myself out of it.  I conquered it and it felt amazing.  There is something incredible about running across the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee and through downtown Milwaukee streets lined with people cheering.

Just a day later I discovered my ability to problem solve and uncovered some MacGyver skills as I not only jammed myself out of my apartment on my second floor balcony without my phone or keys, but also troubleshooted through getting myself back in with the help of a neighbor's screw driver, a tomato cage, and a bamboo plant stake.  There might have been a point where I sat down on the cooler on my patio and asked myself, "What would a pirate do in this situation?" The response to myself, "They wouldn't give up!"  I had a timeline to get back in because I had to pick up a Pirate PLN friend from the airport to head to the USM Summer Spark Conference.  If you're wondering, it took me about 35 minutes to break in.  I attributed it to the troubleshooting skills and persistence that I have obtained from my role as an instructional coach at work.

I also conquered my first Trail Running Series.  While I was super nervous at first and afraid of falling, I discovered a love for trail running and finished 3rd in my age group for the series and earned a series medal.  I also was asked to join the Silver Circle Sports Events Team and my first race working as an official staff member I earned an Average Jane medal finishing exactly in the middle of my age group and destroying my personal best time.  If there was any question, you run faster when you're wearing blue.

This year was a tremendous year of growth in terms of my leadership at work.  I had the opportunity to travel with my boss to CA for Summit Leader training.  Later in summer I attended team training with colleagues and was presented an opportunity this year to lead some of this work as we adopted the Summit Learning Platform across our 6th grade team.  My discovery here was closer relationships with some of my colleagues.

For 2018, I had initially thought my #oneword would be RENEW, until I was challenged by Kristin Daley Conti @daleyscience to take on the word DISRUPT.  I had thought Renew would be a good fit to continue the great things I had discovered in 2018, but disrupt was a better fit in terms of what I wanted to accomplish.

In 2018 I have committed to...

Disrupt my daily routine.

• I will disrupt my daily routine to incorporate intentional time for a gratitude and bullet journal to keep track of moments.
• I will disrupt my daily routine to provide scheduled time for working out and running.
• I will disrupt my daily routine to incorporate more time for professional reading.
• I will disrupt my daily routine to find time to prepare healthier meals.
• I will disrupt my daily routine by finding a better balance between work and my home life. This might involve taking things off of my plate in order to find time for other things that matter.
• I will disrupt my daily routine by committing to attending church on a weekly basis to grow in my faith.
• I will disrupt my approach to life by being less driven on accomplishments and more driven by creating and enjoying moments.

Disrupt my approach to relationships.

• I will disrupt my approach to relationships by creating more time for the people that matter most.
• I will disrupt my approach to dating by taking greater risks and putting myself out there (instead of hiding behind work and grad school).

Disrupt my approach to running.

• I will disrupt my approach of running alone by joining the SCSE running team.
• I will disrupt my approach to running by committing to running with others instead of just running by myself.
• I will disrupt my running abilities by committing to running a half-marathon in May. (Thanks to the #runlap crew for the encouragement!)
• I will disrupt my approach to running by destroying the mileage records I set in 2017.  I have 158 miles to beat.  Goal is to shoot for 800+.

Disrupt my approach to instructional coaching, leadership and professional learning.

• I will disrupt my approach by encouraging my colleagues to take risks.
• I will disrupt my approach by leading trough risk taking.
• I will disrupt my approach by continuing to find opportunities to leverage learner VOICE and leadership.
• I will disrupt my approach by leading a micro-credential with the book "Shift This" by Joy Kirr.
• I will disrupt my approach by making a commitment to blogging about what's been happening in my role over the last two years.  I've lost track since I changed roles and started grad school.
• I will disrupt my approach by taking the summer off of teaching to spend the time on personal and professional growth.
• I will disrupt my approach to grad school by conquering my practicum hours, secure my research topic, and continue to challenge my classmate's thinking in our online learning environment.

2018 has a lot of potential ahead by living through the #oneword disrupt.  The first half of January has been fantastic and I can't wait to see what the rest of 2018 brings!