My One Word 2019

Pause

My one word for the 2019 year is pause. I chose this word because I feel that it is very important to pause and appreciate the things and the people that we have in our lives. When I further reflected on this word, I was reminded of the event that took place in August of 2017. I am referring to Hurricane Harvey. My family and I were personally affected by this tragedy and ever since then, it has changed and shaped the person that I am today. There are a lot of things that I can pause and look back on about the storm that are negative and upsetting at times. For example, I can pause and think about the grand piano that I lost (the only thing that I had left from my late grandmother), the elementary school yearbooks that were filled with childhood memories of some of my favorite teachers that we forgot to move upstairs and were soaked in the toxic water, the guest book to my first birthday party, or how the house that I had spent the past fifteen years of my life in was destroyed in only a matter of days. These are just a few of the things that I could pause and reflect upon losing. Over the past year and a half, I have definitely thought about these things and countless others that I have lost.

With that said, very rarely do we sit back and pause to reflect on the good and positive outcomes of a situation in our lives. I will sometimes pause and think about the good things that came out of Harvey. For instance, in living with my grandfather since evacuating our home, I have gotten to spend more time with him. Going through something like this, really brought my parents and I even closer together. I pause and think about how grateful I am to not have lost any family members or pets in the flood. I also pause and think about how lucky I felt that I had a boss and coworkers who were kind enough to check on my family and I during and after the flood. I pause and think about the people in my life, from former acquaintances to my best friend who called, texted, or sent me a facebook message because they saw what was happening on the news. These are the things that I would like to pause and think about in regards to Hurricane Harvey. These are the moments that I want to remember.

In regards to reading, it is important to constantly pause and think about what you are reading and how it is affecting you. As readers, we pause and think about how we can relate to the things that we are reading. We pause and have discussions with one another about our thoughts on a certain character or their actions. Taking a pause while reading is a great tool to remember for ourselves as well as teach to others because it allows people to really think about what they are reading and develop questions to ask their peers about misunderstandings they may have about the text.

Moving forward with 2019, I want to pause and think about the positive things that occur. I want to pause and think about the new people that I meet and the changes that I made to better myself personally and professionally. This year, I will pause and find something good in every single moment.