My One Little Word for this year is discover. What have I discovered over the past month? Many things, but I have to confess this slice has eluded me for the past two days. It’s been hiding, making me work to discover what I wanted to say about a month of blogging every day. In the end, I thought about what is necessary to being open to and making discoveries. Carol Dweck’s “Growth Mindset” came to mind, so I decided to frame it in terms of Dweck’s basic tenets.
Embrace the challenge. We made it! Thirty-one days, thirty-one slices.
Be inspired by the success of others. I am in awe of the talented writers who have shared their writing this month. Your writing has inspired and humbled me. I have discovered several new blogs and new voices and am excited to continue to learn from all of you.
Thrive on feedback. I cannot thank you all enough for your kind and encouraging comments. I feel so fortunate to be part of this incredible, supportive community!
Support and encourage each other. I have loved reading all your slices and have left as many comments as possible. But one of the downsides of this challenge is that there just isn’t enough time to do my own writing AND read all the slices that sound so interesting.
Expect excellence. I have strived each day to create a piece of writing that was worth sharing with you. This has given me more insight into my writing. Sometimes I feel pretty slow about these discoveries and think, “Duh, you’re just figuring this out now?” But at least I figured it out, right? After all, that’s what this journey is about.
Be resilient and overcome obstacles. Many times this month, I’ve started a piece of writing with one idea in mind, but ended up with something very different from what I envisioned. This was often frustrating and never easy. But I did it.
Accept hard work, effort, & deliberate practice. Like all of your, over the course of the month I have struggled to find the right word, rearranged a paragraph after I thought a piece was finished, and tried new forms I wasn’t comfortable with. But all those struggles were worth it.
Congratulations, everyone, for this incredible accomplishment!
Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for your dedication and the hard work it took to make this challenge possible. You are all an inspiration to me!
Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Reading to the Core 
Can I just say, “Ditto!” Thanks for summing up a great experience so thoughtfully. I loved how your organized your piece around the tenets of Growth Mindsets. I was also humbled by the writing that was shared this month–such power and craft. So many voices to learn from!
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I like the framework you used within which to express your own thoughts. Very nicely done. Glad you had such a good experience at SOL. It certainly sounds like you gave it all you had and took away just as much!
https://barbarasut.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-newly-retired-senior-citizen/
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I think this is a beautifully written retrospective of all that March is for the slicer community. Having the growth mindset to complete this challenge is essential — Dweck’s words that you share will spur my own thinking. “Becoming is better than being.” I need to hang out there awhile… Good to meet you this month. Keep writing!
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I absolutely love this slice. You have captured the very essence of this challenge. I’ve enjoyed getting to “know” you, Catherine, and already know that you are the kind of person I’d be glad to call a colleague. I can tell you are a humble, knowledgeable, and collaborative person. Thanks for all your inspiration this month!
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This is the place to learn by doing because we are all in the same boat. Will our words be enough? And someone always jumps in to tell you yes, they are enough and they speak to me. What a great reflection!
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I think you’ve said it well, Catherine. all those words, all those wise words we’ve read & commented on, so worth applause. For you, too. Thank you!
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My favorite is “Expect excellence.” You could really tell the difference between the slices that were done just to get it done and the ones that were raised to the level of excellence. When we put ourselves out there, we should always strive to do our best. I don’t feel I got this message across to my students this year.
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Catherine,
What a gorgeous and thoughtful summary. My favorite is “Be inspired by the success of others.” And oh, what examples of success we have seen this month. It’s always a pleasure to read your posts, and your poetry. Your are such a wonderful and gracious addition to this community.
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Love how you framed your reflection according to Dweck’s tenets. I especially loved #1 Embrace the challenge, and #7Accept hard work, effort, and deliberate practice. Deliberate practice – that’s what we do every day in March. It’s especially meaningful for me to read posts and be inspired by slicer friends, both old and new.
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Your words touched me! I HAD to respond!
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