Yesterday, the National Day of Writing, I spent the morning at Teachers College for the 95th Saturday Reunion. This day always leaves me feeling inspired and rejuvenated. There is something about being surrounded by thousands of other educators, who gather together, by choice, to learn from an organization that continues to outgrow itself in the service of our students.

While I drove away from TC filled with ideas and tips to share back at my own school, there was a nagging feeling that I couldn’t shake.

Four years ago, I made the decision to interview for a new role in our district, literacy coach. I remember the interview vividly, sitting at a really large conference table surrounded by teachers and administrators that I had come to know well, sharing my vision for what literacy instruction and learning could look like. I remember saying, “I have a dream about what schools could look like.”

That dream is what I feel like I am chugging towards every day. Some days the dream feels like it is on the horizon, like we are getting there. Other days, it’s all uphill. But the dream is always there.

I envision school to be a joyous place, for students and the adults that work there. A place where we are growing learners, who are bursting with wonder and curiosity, eager to eat up all that the school days bring. I envision fun and play and the communities that are fostered around a love for learning.

Yesterday at TC, I sat in a session about text complexity and in true TC style, there were plenty of opportunities for turning and talking. I chatted with a principal from Michigan who had hopped on a flight at 2am to make it to the reunion. The duo sitting across the table flew in from South Carolina. At the end of the workshop, Anna Sheehan said, “So what will you do differently on Monday?”

The pair of teachers across the table excitedly proclaimed, “Everything!”

The day left me hungry for that kind of passion.

In recent weeks, the vision of what I am working towards feels blurry. While I’ve always felt like what I was after was clear, I question whether it’s ever been clear to those around me. Are we working towards the same things? Do we have similar beliefs? How do we iron these important things out when the days are packed with new initiatives, layers of our own complexities, and countless things that seem to get in the way?

In a day filled with the hashtag, #whyiwrite, I am writing to release the whirling of thoughts in my mind.