A beginning: The blinking cursor of doom

Someone once said “Starting is the hardest part.” Or at least I’m assuming someone, at some point in history has made that observation, because it’s a pretty common conundrum. 

I’ve always been the type of writer that tries to just dive into something and start writing, even if what I’m writing is total garbage and I end up using none of it. Somehow, just defeating that evil blinking cursor of doom is a battle worthy of all the glory, no matter how ugly the result.

In fact, I’m now debating removing the previous paragraph because it’s not very pretty. But then you wouldn’t get the point, which is that writing is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either super human or lying to you.

Sure, there are moments of clarity, when all the writing comes together in a glorious turn of phrase, or in an eloquently simple yet profound statement.

But really how often does that happen? For the really talented writers, probably a lot of the time, or at least that’s how I imagine it. For the rest of us? We’re lucky if it ever happens.

But, I’m also sure that someone once said that “anything worth doing is hard”. Okay, so the Google machine tells me that really it’s a paraphrase of the great Theodore Roosevelt who said: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…”

Thanks Teddy. Sounds like a blast.

But none of that is actually the point. The point is that in starting this blog, I’m doing something hard, but something I think is worth doing. And here’s why.

I spent A LOT of time an energy earning a fancy degree in a topic that I find fascinating. When I feel like impressing (or confusing) people, I like to say “I have a Ph.D. in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience”. When I feel like being more modest (and realistic) I say “I spent 5 years studying kids’ brains”.

And it was cool, don’t get me wrong. But then I was left with the everlasting “now what?” question. But one thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to get the things that I had stored up in my head out into the hands of people who could actually use it on a daily basis. Academia certainly has it’s place, but frankly writing jargon-filled never-ending journal articles to only be read (and ripped apart) by experts in the field, or thrust upon a few poor unsuspecting graduate students, has never seemed like a great use of my brain resources or time. (To all of you academics out there, I’m not saying it’s not a good use of YOUR brain resources or time, it’s just not the best use of mine.)

So instead I’ve invested my efforts into what I like to call “translating research for public audiences”, which is admittedly jargon-y in and of itself. But over the past two years I’ve been working at the University of Minnesota with a group called the Extension Children, Youth and Family Consortium. Our focus is really on getting research into the hands of people who can use it in an accessible and interesting way.

And through the last two years I have learned many things: 1) Just because I have a Ph.D. doesn’t mean I know how things really are in the world. 2) I will never stop learning because I find it endlessly interesting. 3) More diverse voices at the table is ALWAYS a good thing. 4) I love getting the good word out there by any means available to me. 5) I could never, ever, do the fantastic work of so many amazing practitioners who are on the ground every day working with kids and families.

So instead I’m starting a blog. Because that’s something that I can do and something I feel (relatively) competent at doing well.

Because, let’s face it, I’m kinda chatty and have a lot to say. Especially when it comes to the human brain, children, youth, life in general, and the many systems that affect kids and families every day.

So, what’s the deal with this here blog?

Well, here’s what you can expect (because I can’t help my academic self needing a bulleted list to stay organized):

• Translational pieces that try to take some of what science knows and communicate it in a way that is useful to people who actually do the good work in communities.
• Commentary on the goings on in the world of children and families
• Reflections on cool meetings I’ve been to, initiatives I’ve heard of, or people I’ve met.
• Resources, because there’s SO much good work being done by so many people out there and it deserves to be communicated.
• An “In the news” corner where I try to help readers understand what’s really going on in those popular news articles that claim things like: “Scientists did brain scans and found that the human brain is pure evil!”
• Reflections on life, the universe, and everything, because I can’t keep myself from pondering endlessly and getting stuck in my own head sometimes.

Things to keep in mind (more bullets…sorry):

• I am not perfect. I do not know everything. I AM an expert in some areas, and NOT in others. I’ll try to be clear when I’m speculating versus when I’ve got hard evidence to support the claims I’m making. I’ll cite whenever possible and appropriate. But PLEASE (gently) let me know if there are things that are inaccurate or wrong. My goal here is to always be putting out the best and most complete information possible. I need your help with that.
• Please take and use anything that I put out. That’s the point. I’d love some credit (or at least a “hey, check out this blog!”), but the goal is for you to get something out of this THAT YOU CAN USE. So please use it as you’re able.
• If you’ve got resources or know about cool things happening out there in the big ol’ world, tell me! I’d love to let others know about the great work that’s happening in the world.
• I love feedback. I love discussion. I love suggestions of topics and ideas. But please no trolling. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.

So that’s the deal. Follow me if you’d like. Or just pop back on occasion. Or if this is so not for you, I wish you well on your journey. It should be an interesting ride for me, and I’d love to have you along!