#5FandomFriday - January 15th - 5 Ways I Am Going To Take Chances In 2016 

5 Fandom Friday is a weekly prompt challenge hosted by The Nerdy Girlie and Super Space Chick. This week's #5FandomFriday topic is 5 Ways I Am Going to Take Chances in 2015, and I've enjoyed reading the other girls' responses to this prompt so far. I was finally able to come up with my own list after lots of thought! I decided to focus on ways to take chances in different areas of my life.

work 

2016 is going to be a year of big changes at work! 8th grade English will be going from being a semester course to a year-long course (with the same 84 minute class periods) in order to better prepare our students for our very difficult state standardized test and their high school courses. I'm excited about having twice as much time with students - more than I've ever had before - because I'll be able to give them time for independent reading and we won't have to move on to new skills until they're ready. On the other hand, I'm very nervous about the change because it means I'll most likely be spending one semester on our other middle school campus, where I don't know very many people and which has a reputation for being very straight-laced. I've suggested an idea for a pilot program that would blend a high-level English class with one of our elective courses and several of the other English teachers really like it - we'll see what the rest of the faculty thinks when we meet this week.

wellness

I've been starting to really invest in my own health over the past few years, although I will be the first one to admit I'm bad at remembering to take care of me. I'm going to face my social anxiety by going to the gym more often for cardio, and I'm also considering signing up for a Couch to 5K program our local Parks and Rec department is offering - I have never liked running, so I would like to actually learn how to run properly.

faith

I would love to find a church community to participate in, but I've used my anxiety as an excuse to spend Sunday mornings at home. I think I am going to just put myself out there and see which of my friends, family members and co-workers will invite me to their churches. I know that I got unbelievably lucky when I lived in Charlottesville and found the perfect church for me via Google. I also know that I might not necessarily find a church that meets all my "perfect church" expectations (simple facility, won't make me work in the nursery, doesn't think women belong in the kitchen, doesn't see depression as a lack of faith, diverse and inclusive), but that I might have to work to "be the change" within that community.

family

Where are you, dream house?

Mr. Q and I will hopefully be buying a house in 2016! The idea of moving out of our townhouse gives me very mixed emotions - on the one hand, I'm totally psyched to get out of this temporary arrangement. On the other hand, I really do love our cozy townhouse; it's perfect for us right now and I've gotten very spoiled living so close to work. Moving on to the next phase of grown-up life is scary.

hobbies

I'd like to be able to stop referring to writing as a hobby and begin to truly pursue it as a career. I'm not very good at sticking to a writing schedule or being self-disciplined, and sometimes I worry that blog writing is actually taking me away from creative writing - you may see me taking a break from the blog for a while this year as I try to get more serious about my passion. My writing is kind of all over the place, but almost all of my stories have a fantasy element. I used to write poetry regularly and would like to get back into that as well. I don't know the first thing about submitting writing to magazines and such, so it's time to learn! My goal is to finish my portfolio and apply to the MFA program at Hollins College - even if I don't become a successful professional author, I think an MFA in creative writing will help me to be a better teacher of writing and a better mentor to new teachers.