A Master's Degree!

This past month I have gone back to school to earn my Master’s degree in Second Language Acquisition. I have been learning to take the process brick-by-brick or in other words one step at a time. After I was registered with all the details in place, I eagerly opened up my first syllabus and started reading about the tasks. My heart must have skipped a beat and almost stopped. How would I be able to carry out my everyday responsibilities and get all of these assignments completed, not to mention formatting them according to the way they want it to look? I had to take a deep breath and commit to taking it one day at a time, one assignment at a time.

Overwhelmed!

Ironically in the subject matter that I am studying, second language acquisition, is a skill that is also a brick-by-brick process. You don’t learn a second language in a day, or a week, or even a year. There are many layers to the endeavor. First, you utter words. Next, phrases. Finally, you can create sentences. If you continue, you will arrive at the day you are able to string multiple sentences together and then finally begin to add more complex grammatical structures. And don’t forget you will need to do all of this in multiple modalities such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Anyone feel overwhelmed? The point is that you will not be able to speak another language fluently the first try. Nor are you able to complete a Master’s degree in just a few weeks of one summer.  

How Does this Relate to Writing?

Are you sensing the parallel to your writer’s life? 

It’s true, we all wish we could write an amazing novel or a clever picture book or chapter book by opening up the computer and letting the words flow from our fingers onto the keyboard. But that is not reality. The truth is that writing is a multi-layered, multi-faceted process that is built brick by brick. It takes time and a whole lot of effort!

So be patient and give yourself some grace. Set a small, one-step goal and celebrate when you accomplish it. Decide that you are in this for the long haul, and then go out and find some writer friends to join you and encourage you along in the process. Finally, open up your computer and write, re-write, edit, and hone your skills. Keep at it…brick by brick…because you enjoy it and believe that you are called to be a writer!

Mindy Baker resides in Indiana where she is a high school Spanish teacher. She is the author of Mouse’s Christmas Gift, Zonderkidz 2018, and has contributions in several 2023 and 2024 Guideposts publications. She recently signed a contract with Chicken Scratch Books for a middle grade novel entitled Soledad to be published in the summer of 2025. You can connect online with Mindy here. She also has a mini-magazine for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of children. You can sign up to receive it here.