I have what you might call “ambition syndrome.” I turn every task into a goal with weight and purpose, something in which to put forth a great effort in order to obtain that little “high” that comes with checking a goal off of a list.

For example, I tend to read more classic literature in the summer because I have more time and mental energy. However, I can’t just sit down and read through a classic novel. I have to plan it out, day by day, and create a checklist of what I need to accomplish in my literary life each day.

Such is the life of a person with ambition syndrome. We sometimes have difficulty completing a task for the simple sake of enjoying it. We must extract purpose, even if it’s as small as ticking a box on a to-do list.

Peer pressure is something we are told is a “bad thing.” From the time we walk through the doors of school, we are told not to follow the crowd if it means doing something that goes against the grain of our identities and to take a stand for ourselves, even if it means not fitting in with the “cool” crowd.

Unfortunately, peer pressure does not disappear when one finishes high school.

It’s still around in college.

It still haunts us in the professional arena.

It hops in the back seat with us on our dates and social outings.

And it even creeps into our reading lives.

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Ah, April.

The month of new birth and new beginnings. The month of glorious color and sunlight.

And the month where we’re all stuck in the house.

These days, I think we’re all having to find creative ways to keep ourselves entertained. And while some may view that as a problem, I am inclined to embrace it as an opportunity. I am a homebody by nature, so the opportunity to stay home and just do whatever I want is quite delightful to me.

This past week has been spring break, so I’ve had even more time to plan and execute my “fun plans” – and, I must say, I think I have enjoyed this time more than if I had gone on a vacation or a host of day trips. It has been relaxing, productive, and thoroughly enjoyable.

One of the things I have really embraced this year is the concept of a 30 day challenge. There are all sorts of month long projects and challenges posted online. I’ve completed a few fitness challenges this year, but for the month of April, I wanted to branch out and try some more lighthearted things.

Thus, the 30 Day Post-a-Note Challenge was born.

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I think it’s safe to say that, unless you have lived through World War II, you have never encountered a situation that has had such rapid and dramatic effects on global society as the coronavirus has.

I know I certainly have not.

In the part of the country where I live, we have thankfully not been affected as severely as places like New York and Washington. While we have still closed schools, church services, dining rooms in restaurants, and any non-essential businesses, we are blessed with relatively low numbers of virus cases.

I know many of us are finding that our daily routines and rhythms have been totally destroyed. If you’re like me, these are the elements of life in which you find comfort and predictability – a safety-net of sorts.

In addition to the loss of our routines, many of us find ourselves at home more than we would like – whether we are working from home or we have been temporarily laid off.

And God only knows that spending day-in and day-out with the same people and in the same surroundings is enough to drive you blooming CRAZY!

So what do bibliophiles do in situations such as these?

What we do in every other situation imaginable.

We read a book.

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I’ve been meaning to write this post for probably two weeks, but things have been so busy that I’m just now getting to it. The stretch of time from January to the end of March is always rough, especially in the teaching profession. Everyone seems to get a case of the winter “blahs,” and an “I-don’t-care” attitude sometimes seems as rampant as the flu.

Thankfully, I think we are over the roughest hump now. The weather is warming up. The trees are starting to bud and blossom. And there are birds singing outside every window.

Spring is finally here.

Thank you Lord.

Spring, for me, is a time of hope. I suppose this is mostly due to the fact that once we hit spring break, I know that summer break is just around the corner. There’s a light at the end of this tunnel, ya’ll. Add to that the beauty and warmth after months of chill, clouds, and dead grass, and it’s hard not to feel a little bit happier.

What better book to spend this season with than one of the titles in L.M. Montgomery’s Anne series?

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One summer when I was in high school, I spent hours scouring the internet for books that were both interesting and “clean.” I was in a point in my reading journey where I was too old for juvenille fiction but didn’t quite feel comfortable tackling some of the content and language in YA books.

I found several really great books and authors that summer, and even though I probably wasted more time than I spent productively, I’d say that the experience was a strong step towards defining my reading identity.

Fast forward several years, and I no longer have the time (or the desire) to do this type of extensive book hunting. However, every now and then, I stumble across a book title that intrigues me and prompts a bit of research.

Such was the case with The Lady and the Lionheart.

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Being a reading teacher has taught me a lot about being a reader and writer. Even though I felt very comfortable analyzing and composing texts before I started my career, my understanding of things like plot organization and the relationship between a story’s theme and its plot have grown enormously. It’s true what they say – you remember something much better when you teach it.

One thing that our writing and literacy curriculum emphasizes to our students is that every text has one of three purposes – to inform, to persuade, or to entertain. This is what I was taught to teach, and this is what I taught in the past without reserve.

It wasn’t until this year, however, that these three purposes caused me to pause and question the validity of this element of our curriculum.

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As we move into a new decade, I have taken some time to review my reading life.

As in every area of life, I have changed quite a bit as a reader over the last 2 or 3 years. While my reading interests remain largely the same, my approach to books has evolved. A few years ago, if I started a book, I had to finish it. Since I’ve started teaching, however, I’ve realized that I don’t have time to waste on books I don’t love, or at least like.

I recently finished reading Sarah Clarkson’s Book Girl. I found myself thinking about reading from many new avenues as I read Sarah’s reflections on the purpose reading plays in a woman’s life. One point that stood out to me in this book was the emphasis on quality over quantity in reading.

Hmm. Interesting.

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I finished my first year of teaching at the beginning of June this year. It was undoubtedly the hardest task I have ever undertaken, and by the grace of God, I made it through successfully.

When I decided to become a teacher, I was filled with so many high ideals. I would set the minds of my students on fire with a love for literature. I would teach them all to analyze fiction like college students. I would teach them to compose essays with eloquence and style. I would be the “fun” teacher – the one every kid loves.

Fast forward to September 2018, and I’m doing my best to maintain grape soda can explosions and paper wad fights and collect missing work from 3 weeks ago.

And so began my rude awakening.

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Do you ever find yourself in a reading funk? You know those horrible seasons of your literary life in which you find that no matter what book title or what genre you pick up, the plot is cliche, the characters stereotypical, and the setting so perfect you want to puke?

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