The Magic in Mentoring

 I really wish I had a mentor. I could use some  technical assistance and at least some moral support on my current project.  I am in the process of "melding" two blogs into one, for several reasons.  It's a long story, but I still want to be able to maintain two separate areas of focus for placement of my writings: one for travel: americandestinations.net and the other for all the other interests that I write about: julieetta1982blogspot.com

So I am a strong advocate for fighting against the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks."  I always like to TRY to learn new stuff and like to think that I can pick up on new ways of doing things. Yet, it's really scary sometimes to take the plunge.  Just like this birdie, I wish I could just keep using a parachute.  Sometimes to proceed without the parachute, I have to consider what would be the end result without the parachute.  So yesterday I spend at least 3 hours transferring all 110 blogs from my site (and some on my computer) to a flash drive.  Now they are safely tucked away in case my "parachute" fails. So I did take the plunge and purchase a new domain address for my original blog and it is now operated by the same web development platform as my travel blog: WIX . However, I am not really sure what that means in terms of how it will function and what it will look like? Guess time will tell, but I have a few things I hope to accomplish with this new change.

So I started my first blog almost 10 years ago (Wow, hard to believe it's been 10 years!) Then after learning a few basics...completely self-taught, I started another blog that I could funnel all my travel features into and it helped me collect the material needed for the publication of my National Parks book, I have learned so much about blogging, writing, computer usage and formatting throughout this process and almost all of my efforts have been self guided.  I do remember getting some feedback from others who operated their own blogs and yes that was helpful.  Yet the step by step processes had to be more of a trial and error basis. Even back then, I wish I would have had a mentor to guide me through some of the steps. In hindsight, it many ways I have been my own mentor: teaching my self along the way. So in that respect, Oprah is right...allowing myself to "see the hope inside yourself".  Nothing like "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps", but there were many times I wish I had an outside source to help some of the questions that I just couldn't find answers to. 

Some subject matters lend themselves to hands-on mentoring....like quilting. In recent years I have expanded my interest in quilting and when I joined a local quilting guild (Willow River Piecemakers Quilt Guild-terrific group!!) I have access to a whole group of very talented quilters whom have really helped me improve my skills and inspire me to pursue new creations. Any quilter will tell you you can never have too many on-going projects! It's easy to get inspired for the next big thing.

On the other hand, writing, blogging and publishing is by nature a more solitary process because everyone has differing expectations.  Many of the techniques and how-to's on the computer can be learned via help desks and "chats", but it is hard to find one to one personal assistance.  Over the years I read books, articles and used on-line help to set-up both my blogs and to help me write and publish my books. It sometimes has been an arduous task to figure out and achieve what I was, and still am trying, to accomplish. Sometimes when you find a key source, you can find delight in it helping you along the way.  When I started blogging and free lance writing 10 years ago, one of my key sources became, in essence, a mentor to me: Kristen Lamb.  She is an author and a blogger who has written several books about writing.  My favorite book of hers really provided many insights and helped to navigate the nuances of both blogging and the publishing industry.  Her book is: Rise of the Machines, Human Authors in a Digital World.  It's an awesome and interesting book.  It seemed so cutting edge when I purchased it (Copywrite 2013), and even now it has great value, but it's truly amazing how rapidly this industry changes. Nevertheless, thanks so much Kristen.

This blog post itself is an experiment as to how and where it will be posted and what it looks like to my readers. So other than all the above mentioned aids to helping me with blogs and publishing, guess I just have to take the plunge and leave my parachute behind. Wish me luck.                                                                                                                  Julie E. Smith

Finding Your Voice

 

When I was a young girl, perhaps in my early teens, my Mom, sister & I made several cross country road trips from Iowa to upstate NY to visit family. I fondly recall one summer when my Mom decided it might be prudent to get a CB radio, for safety reasons if we were on the road and had car trouble. It was the responsible thing to do, yet in the eyes of a teenager girl it was delightful fun to chat with the truckers and just about anybody else I was able to strike up a conversation with up and down the dial. Remember this was before the days of cell phones and before the days of social media. I found it great fun and so did most of the truckers...most of them.  It was all well and good until one of the truckers decided my "handle" should be "ratchet jaw".  In hind sight, it was funny, but at the same time hurtful.  It was one of those moments that you remember years later. It was one of the first times in my life I had been criticized for talking too much.  It also came to be the first of many times. Yet, many of us have traits...parts of our personality that are ingrained in us.  Sometimes it becomes kind of a self fulfilled prophecy.  When someone tells you that you are a certain way...then you start to see yourself that way.  Yes, sometimes I talk a lot, perhaps too much. When those moments arise that I am reprimanded for talking too much, I instinctively back down, for awhile anyway.  Then my need to be heard resurfaces and I feel the need to speak and be heard.

So talking easily with just about anyone is not necessarily a bad thing. I have been told I possess the "Gift of Gab".  It comes in handy for a whole bevy of social situations to help break the ice and sometimes put more people at ease. Yet, learning how to measure your words before you speak is an important skill to have.  It reminds me of the old adage: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt." This quote is sometimes attributed to Abraham Lincoln, although the actual origin has been debated.  Nevertheless, when I hear it, it sometimes causes me to think twice before making comments.  Especially on a topic I have limited knowledge on.  Tis better to listen and learn in those circumstances.

So frequently I remind myself of another adage: God gave us two ears and one mouth so we should listen twice as much as we talk.  Good point.  Nevertheless when I look at this image of a woman (circa 1950's) being a good girl and reminding either herself  or someone close by to "Shush"...the feminist in me rises and  I want to cry out until my voice is heard. Why is it that silence is sometimes equivalent to complacency?   Not always the case, yet being silent sometimes comes at a cost.

I guess we all need to feel that we are being heard and finding our voice with respect to how we communicate.  Many times it is not merely verbal, but our voice can be carried and displayed in a multitude of ways: music, art and in my case: writing. 

I have compared this blog sometimes to a journal...it feels so good to be able to express myself, to have my voice heard.  Yet someone (I'm not saying who...) said to me: ..."If it's like a journal than why should you care if anybody reads it or not?"  OUCH. Theoretically, maybe I shouldn't care if anybody reads it or not.  But it comes full circle as to why I write...it is a way of finding my voice.  So if no one listens to my "voice" why should I write? Good question. Why does an artist paint? Why does a dancer dance? I write because that is who I am.  Nevertheless, it would be nice to know someone is "listening".  Lately I have grappled with new ideas on how to reach my audience. As a writer and blogger it is sometimes sad to think that when you hit the "Publish" button your work has now gone to cyberspace, possibly never to be viewed except by your own eyes.  Yes, this is a bit dramatic, but sometimes it feels that way. Yet I just continue to write because it is one of the ways I have found my own voice. I have a favorite quote on my bulletin board: Real writers don't write because they can write, they write because they can't NOT write.  Let that sink in.  Therein lies the true nature of the beast.

Here's another food for thought...it's pretty evident to me why social media has become such a pervasive, sometimes even invasive, part of our lives.  People just want to be heard. Like so many ways of communication, there are pros and cons to discussions on social media. In it's early days, Facebook was merely a simple way to keep in touch and share photos, but it has morphed into something much more complicated...in good ways and sometimes NOT so good. Nevertheless, it does still allow dialogue.

So many times I think about communication and how it has changed just in the last few years. Not surprising that this would be a favorite topic of mine because my degree is in Journalism and Mass Communication. Both of those terms: journalism and mass communication encompass entirely different things now from when I graduated college.  It's mind boggling to think how we communicate has changed.  On a personal level, I think it is sad that so many local newspapers have disappeared.  Perhaps technology has replaced them with other ways of connecting with your community, but sometimes I still think there is a void in that respect.  Having connections relevant to your geographic area helps to create a stronger, closely knit community. It brings a sense of identity that only a local paper or local TV station can bring. The town I am currently living in had a local paper that closed down just a few years before I got here. Sad. Maybe I would have enjoyed working with them.  If when I graduated, I had been told you will operate 2 blogs, (what's a blog?)

self-publish 4 books and communicate with your family and friends across the country just by typing a note on your computer (Thanks Facebook).....well at that time I just would not have fathomed it. Not sure what the future will bring as we seek to Find our voice.

So Gentle Readers....I encourage you to Find Your Voice in whatever format is best suited to you.  Find your voice and let you voice be heard.  Julie Etta Smith

The Road Less Traveled

It is funny how simple changes in our routine and going outside our "comfort zone" can really open one's eyes to new things and new experiences.  Something as simple as a road detour can bring an interesting twist to your day.  Some of my inspiration for this blog post is reminiscent of Robert Frost's poem: The Road Not Taken.  It has always been one of my favorites:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

That particular poem has been interpreted in so many ways. It also probably is different for everyone in different life circumstances. For me and at this time, it really says to me that it's rewarding to find new pathways...both literally and figuratively speaking. Here's a perfect example from my recent travels in my own town.  We found out that work would be done on a bridge close to our neighborhood on a county road that happens to be our main pathway to town (we live on the far east side of town and basically have to go this way to get anywhere else.) There are two detours that definitely take the long way around, but frankly they are very pretty drives. Our initial reaction included groans of exasperation followed by an acceptance and appreciation that at least the bridge is being improved before something bad happened. So we keep taking the long way and have learned to be more effective about planning our trips.  It truly is nice that I am seeing part of this area that under normal circumstances I would never see. 

Simplistic beauty of a country road

This particular corner on our detour takes us by this big beautiful barn.  The whole scene with the curvy road, stately maple trees and the big red barn is just picture perfect; makes the drive that much nicer. If it were winter, this curvy road could be icy and a bit treacherous....but it's not. It is summer: the fields of corn are abundant, the trees and wildflowers are diverse and it makes for a lovely drive....even if it is a bit longer.

So admiring the Grant Wood beauty of this scene and barn, I started wondering about some of the unique round barns that I know can be found in Wisconsin.  Inquiring minds need to know ...so I did my research and found out that at one time there were over 215 round barns in Wisconsin. Since the round barn style was more common from 1880 to the 1930s it was a very common way to build a barn and made more sense both economically and the feasibility of  building usage.  With the advent of electricity and newer methods of milking, it was easier to electrify a rectangular shaped barn. So the round style  became a thing of the past, but when you happen to come upon one, if it is still standing... it is a unique reflection of historical agriculture. 

 I also discovered that the state of Wisconsin has more round barn structures than any state in the U.S.  The state of Indiana runs a close second on that probably by virtue of the large Amish population in the state.  The Amish were known to prefer building round barns and were able to perfect the building techniques for them.  They also utilized the unique shape for milking and also grain storage without the use of electrification. 

New Richmond (Erin Prairie Township, built 1914)

So I did a little poking around on the internet and I found an amazing list of all the historical round barns in the state of Wisconsin.  If you are curious to find one in your area you can find the list at:www.dalejtravis.com/rblist/rbwi.htm 

So I was amazed to find there was one VERY close to my house.  I grabbed my camera and hopped in the car to go snap some photos.  It was easy to find with the help of Dale Travis's detailed list. It also made me realize I may want to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts to photograph more of these unique and historical structures. I took many photos of this unique barn and wish I could have taken more of the interior structure. However, no one was at home at the time to get permission.  Sometimes the interiors show how solidly they were built and also the unique grain and feed storage areas. In any case, I took several shots of this unique barn.

New Richmond (Erin Prairie Township, built 1914)

So I did discover that the highest concentration of round barns in the WORLD is right here in Wisconsin in Vernon County. There are 17 left in that county at last count, but previously the numbers of round barns were much higher in that area. Vernon County borders the Mississippi and encompasses a "driftless" glacial area and the terrain has gently rolling hills   There is also a very large population of Amish in the area so it is no small wonder that so many of the traditional round barns had been constructed in this area. Some of the barns are of newer construction, but the majority of them were built between 1890 and 1930.  Most of the barns were used for dairy farming.

Round barn in Vernon County Wisconsin

 Another round barn in Wisconsin that is worthy of note is found in northern region of Iron County near Hurley. It is located directly across from the Montreal River from Ironwood, Michigan. The round barn was built in 1917 and is an impressive structure made entirely from field stones.  Can you imagine the labor involved in constructing it? It is listed on Wisconsin's National Register of Historic Places.

Annala Round Barn in Hurley, WI. (Built 1917)

So remember next time you come upon a detour, both literally and figuratively speaking, a journey on that detour can sometimes bring new and thought provoking sights and experiences.  Happy Travels along the way on the Road less traveled.   Julie E. Smith