Hello, Stranger!

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Hello, dear friends. It’s been a while. Since doing the Reschool Yourself project, there have been a lot of developments in my life: I moved from California to Mississippi. I co-founded a nonprofit organization and a small business. I had a baby and started working in state government. And throughout it all, not a day has gone by when I didn’t think about the project.

From the beginning, I wanted to write a book about what was happening to me during Reschool Yourself — about what it was like to have a school “do-over” at 28 years old and get to be a kid again, about visiting with my past, looking it in the eye, and letting it go. I hoped that it would help other people go through a similar healing process and make their own fresh start.

But I got tired of talking about the project, paralyzed by the daunting task of writing a book, and just plain busy with other things. I started writing the book, then put it down, and picked it up again in fits and starts. I stopped keeping up the blog because I felt like I should use that time to work on the book. It’s been infinitely more challenging to find time to write at all since having a baby.

There’s a deep, nagging feeling in my body that this project won’t truly be finished until I finish this book. I’m working on shifting my energy from anger at myself for not doing it already to motivation to do it now. There are plenty of reasons why having distance from the experience will make for a better book: I can see the story objectively and have more perspective on how best to tell it; I can include only the most meaningful details and let the rest fall away. I trust that things happen in their own good time, and they will with the book, too.

But still, I often wake up in the middle of the night with my inner critic running wild, berating me. Why didn’t you just ride the momentum of the project and write the damn thing when you had few expenses and ample time? Now you have a full-time job, a mortgage, and a child! The Internet and social media are so cluttered now! Publishing is dead! 

With all of this crazy talk, it’s no surprise that I’ve let the resistance get the better of me — but I won’t again. I can’t keep beating myself up about not finishing what I started. I’m starting to blog again and post on social media, slowly overcoming the inertia of the period when I didn’t do these things.

The book is close to being done, and I need your help to get it out of my head and into the world. Publishing a book becomes much more possible when there are people waiting to read it. If what you’ve seen on this site has added something to your life, and if you think the book would, too, here’s what you can do:

Thank you! Hearing from you helps me put fuel in the tank again and move closer to the dream.

Comments (10)

  1. Margaret

    Cheers to you, Melia! I still wear the RSY shirt proudly and tell people about the project when they ask- birthing more potential readers for you! And when I have to remember back to the project, and that crazy creative energy you had to do it, in order to give someone a blurb, I say: “it’s a project where my friend went back through the school system to redefine what her schooling should have been, and to make the system a more humane, positively educational experience for others” –am I around the bull’s eye? 😉

    Reply
    1. mjdicker (Post author)

      Dearest Margaret, thank you for spreading the word about the project and wearing the RSY shirt with pride! Your elevator speech rocks – I love it. I am getting back some of that crazy creative energy that fueled the project and exercising those out-of-shape writing muscles. It helps to have friends like you, who are out there pursuing their dreams and inspiring other people to do the same!

      Reply
  2. Gillian

    Awesome! I’m so proud of you for making the book a reality, especially with everything else you have going on. I can’t wait to read it. The site redesign looks fab, too!

    Reply
    1. mjdicker (Post author)

      Thank you, lady! I appreciate your support and am inspired by what you’re doing with Traveling to Taste. Having a circle of creative friends is a great motivator. Darren gets the props on the site redesign – it feels good to start fresh!

      Reply
  3. Emily

    can’t wait to read the book!!

    Reply
    1. mjdicker (Post author)

      Thank you, Emily! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kerri Fjeld

    Excellent idea! I was just thinking of your project the other day and am so happy that fresh energy is being reintroduced. I look forward to reading the book! You can do it!!!

    Reply
    1. mjdicker (Post author)

      How funny that you were thinking about the project recently. You were there during its very beginnings! I so appreciate your support and look forward to getting ‘er done. Hugs to you!

      Reply
  5. Stephanie

    Education is my passion, I definitely plan on, and look forward to, reading your book!

    Reply
    1. mjdicker (Post author)

      Thank you, Stephanie! I truly appreciate that. 🙂

      Reply

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