Summing it Up

A post detailing everything I know about math would be a very brief read. Like most who can boast a post-5th grade education, I’m pretty comfortable with the Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally acronym by which we recall the proper order of mathematical operations. I’ve memorized the oft-recited and apparently key formula, y=mx+b, although I wouldn’t know how to practically apply this knowledge if my life depended on it. And we would be nearing the end of this post if I did not also know that an equation requires harmony on both sides before it is balanced.

I’ve acknowledged several times on this blog my realization that I need both teaching and writing in my life to feel professionally complete. I’ve noted my hopes to resolve the teaching side of my professional equation with a part time gig as an art teacher. I am pleased to say that the happy conclusion to last week’s interview posts is that I have landed the ideal art teaching job. I will be teaching pre-K-5th graders two days a week in a totally outfitted art room, complete with storage room, sink, and supplies, a conclusion that happily resolves one side of my employment equation.

But, as previously noted, a half calculation does not a solution make. Even in aftermath of factoring in the exponential work load that goes along with being an August hire, my thoughts return in a repeating pattern to the unresolved side of my equation. Mathematically speaking, balance will only result from achieving an equally positive result in my writing endeavors, and I find myself divided on where to best focus my efforts. Continue my YA series? Return to reporting? Explore new markets? The possibilities are infinite, but I can’t assume the results will be equivalent.

So the computation must continue. Fortunately, I think I can figure this one out without protractors, graph paper, or a calculator, although I suspect I may still be tapping my pencil in frustration until I can scratch out a viable product.