KaDeWo - The Joy Advocate

Today marks the 7 year anniversary for this evolving blog. I am so GRATEFUL for all the readers (purposeful and accidental) that have visited to read my thoughts and opinions. Viewer/readership is UP, UP, UP!! =D  I am AMAZED at how this blog has grown. I APPRECIATE that YOU would use your free time to read through the topics that I find interesting and worth starting a dialogue about. I could not let another year pass without writing YOU a brief note to express my enormous GRATITUDE. Thank you for those of you who have shared, scrolled, followed and talked about this personal outlet.  I have come to love brainstorming, drafting, editing and publishing my words. Without an audience these posts would not continue. Thank you for VALUING this creative space. Continue reading and sharing. Every viewer is essential to this blog. The 7th year is special to me, because I believe the number seven is a number of completion. Who knows how long this blog will exist, but for now

When I started teaching English in South Korea I entered in the middle of the school year. The fall semester had commenced when I came in at the end of August 2016. The start of the new academic year commenced in March 2017. After six months of working in a new school, living in a new country and rapidly adjusting to a new culture and community I felt the level in which I was getting to know my coworkers was moving at a slow pace. Although we ate lunch together, several teachers talked around me but not to me. I thought about this one evening and decided that when the new semester started I would write a Welcome Letter.  In my Temple University undergraduate education courses, one of my seasoned professors had us create a Welcome Letter as an introductory assignment. I am so happy that I took that assignment seriously and saved it with my files I knew I would use throughout my teaching career. When I student taught I wrote and distributed a letter to all of my students and it helped to

For the past several years, she had been on a mindful journey to identify and make peace with her au t hentic self. With the aid of the therapists she reached the goal and began to naturally embrace her authentic self with love. She didn’t even realize the healing was occurring. Yes, she wanted to accept and be at peace with this woman whom she partly knew and would fully come to know. She stared at herself thinking,  I truly love her . She didn’t judge her or make her feel bad about her choices. Mainly because she is now honest with herself, after finding it hard to embrace some “ugly” or “undesirable” parts of herself. This 33-year-old woman found her inner child and let her out, she didn’t always worry about who saw her inner child anymore. She decided to be less guarded and more engaged in the present. She consciously chose to love her faults and subconsciously emerged into a goddess inspiring those close to her. She was fully aware of those in her immediate vicinity who were on th