Patience is a virtue for the Whitetail hunter. Patience is also a virtue for the writer. For the last five years I have applied endurance to entering a new profession and my blog writing remained silent; I’ve been absent from the Whitetail Poet Diaries to become a Language Arts teacher.
It’s time to start writing.
The irony of stopping my web articles to become a writing educator is not lost on me but now, after almost six years of classroom work with Middle School and High School students, it’s time to get back to the discipline of pen and paper; keyboard and doc.
About three years into my bow hunting journey I picked up the mantle to teach. From 2015 to 2020 I forged my way through a Communication Arts & Literature degree at Minnesota State University Moorhead and then, jumped into my first classroom as Covid kicked off. Now, into my sixth season and second school, I’ve settled into my new life and discovered my stride as an educator.
I’m jumping back into blog writing with this short testimony to simply state my creative juices were squeezed out in the maelstrom and stress of juggling workload, classroom stress, and English content creation. Finding the energy to crunch out Whitetail Poet content seemed daunting. The page has turned, now I can manage my classroom responsibilities and return to blogging as an avenue of enjoyment.
It’s time to start writing.
The bow hunting connection was always present during my teaching transition. My passion for the big wilderness tracks of Northern Minnesota and chasing Ole Wooly with a bow and arrow were constant companions. In my first year of teaching I devoted six and a half days to my profession and reserved Sunday afternoons for the deer woods. Archery, scouting, hobby photography, and the bow season were a welcomed indulgence to my path to teaching tenure. My connection to bow hunting helped me stay leveled.
Bringing bow hunting interests to the classroom has helped me connect with many students as well. I enjoy telling, and listening, to hunting stories. In outdoor writing units I consider conservation pioneers like Sigurd F. Olson and in short story lessons many young writers used their deer stand experience as a backdrop for assignments.
One valuable lesson I learned while imparting writing skills to teens is patience. One vital attribute I developed while waiting for Whitetail opportunities is patience. One meaningful quality I allowed myself in this interim is patience. Patience with yourself is a great writer’s, hunter’s, and teacher’s asset. In my personnel writing craft I’ve had to allow myself the space to grow into this season. Sometimes a person does not always tag out in September but patience, and allowing the process to work, can position the hunter for success when the snow flies. Knowing yourself as a writer, and allowing the process to work, can also bring you into the right timing to produce meaningful content. Much like understanding the Whitetail, when to move, when to sit, and the exact right moment to release an arrow, the writer needs patience but also understanding to know when the time is right.
There was an old anonymous plaque hanging in the office hallway of our English department at Weld Hall on the MSUM campus that read something like, and I paraphrase, “Dreaming about writing is not writing, thinking about writing is not writing, and talking about writing is not writing. Writing is writing.”.
It’s time to start writing.
I want to thank some folks who have not given up on the Whitetail Poet dream through these transition years: Outdoor writer Edgar E. Castillo @ the.writers.blocc on Instagram took time to reach out, encourage me, offer support, and stay connected. My good buddy Matt who is my Whitetail Poet artist and co-conspirator, my lifelong friend Bill who shares many of my outdoor adventures, and lastly my amazing wife who believes in me, my dreams, is patient with my writing time, and stands with the financial cost of maintaining a website.
It’s time to start writing.
Peace,
