What I envision for this space to be is primarily a place for me to share what I’ve been learning in hopes that I process new experiences fully and have something to look back on if I need reminding of certain lessons. If anybody else reads a post and learns something from it, that’s an extra bonus. I realize that my reasons for making this site are primarily self-serving; being the external processor that I am, though, and having just finished school with no one forcing me to write, I’ve felt that I have had a lot of words stuck inside me that I just need to get out–which is why I’ve created this blog.
This semester, I’ve taught seven sections of first year writing courses (see right for repercussions of teaching WRITING to SEVEN classes of FRESHMEN: crazy eyes + double-fisting coffee). I started the semester with about a hundred students, and although that number has dropped to eighty-something, I still have tons of writing to comment on (one of my favorite parts of my job) and grade (my least favorite part of my job…seriously, anytime a rubric enters my field of vision, I have an actual visceral response). Maybe it’s the fact that I spend so much of my time and mental energy poring over writing that is not my own, and I get “jealous” (ok that’s not the right word, but it’s the closest thing I can think of), or maybe it’s that writing has been a normal part of my every-day life since…second grade (isn’t that when you get your first journal at school??). Now all of a sudden, I haven’t been asked to produce a single piece of writing for the first time in twenty years (omg how old do I sound???), so it feels like something is missing not to engage in the practice. Whatever the case may be, here’s a place where I’ll be recording my thoughts for the foreseeable future.
The name of this site–Chachi’s Chapters–was not chosen incidentally. Chachi is the name that my Grandmama (more on her later) started calling me when I was really little. It’s probably the first name I called myself too, as it’s much easier to pronounce than Charlsie. Chachi is what I go by in my “inner circle” (to quote Shauna Niequist). If I hear somebody call me that, I automatically relax because I know that that “somebody” has seen the deepest parts of me and still loves me. That somebody has seen me in hysterics, has been hurt by me I’m sure, has heard me cry, whine, act a fool, you name it. My immediate family, my eight nieces and nephews,my closest group of friends–they all call me Chachi. When I’m with them, I’m the truest version of myself and am the most vulnerable I can be. That’s the person I hope to be in this space as well: a girl who is well-loved and shares her un-filtered thoughts–whether they be petty, outrageous, or down-right wrong.
Secondly, besides the alliterative element it brings (sorry, deep down I’m a nerd, so I had to) the word “Chapters” has been (accurately) selected to describe the nature of future posts. I’m a very long-winded writer, and I’m well aware that all of my posts will be “too long.” I really don’t care.
**disclaimer: YES I’m an English teacher, but NO I do not have “perfect grammar,” and I’m not going to allow myself to proofread any posts–otherwise, this will start feeling like work, and that’s the last thing I want this to be.
Chachi's Chapters 