Accomplishment

I had planned to talk today about what to do when you've finished a creative project, and how one of the worst things you can do is sit and revel in your accomplishment.  However, like many good, creative things, I'm going to write about something different, because the mood has taken me.

What I'd like to talk about instead is accomplishment, and what a marvelous thing it can be.  Accomplishment is especially grand when it comes at the end of a long stretch of work, one we didn't know we could actually achieve when we started out.

What has prompted this all is two-fold.  The first, of course, is the end of NaNoWriMo.  Thirty days of novel writing has come to and end.  At the start of it all, we all had the goal to write 50,000 words.  Many of us made it.  A much larger number of us didn't make it, but even then, there ought to be a sense of accomplishment, because we've written more than we would have had we not begun in the first place.

Still, 50,000 words in quite a large number, and definitely something to be proud of. 

Which brings me to my second reason for writing this post.  I teach a media technology class at an elementary school here in Indiana, and as part of my class, I make all my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students go through NaNoWriMo, too.  They each set their own goal and work toward them throughout the month.  Like the adults, many of them utterly fail to make their goals, but even then, they'll have written more words than they ever have before in their short lives. 

Like some of the adults, they make their goals, whether that goal is 1,000 words for the month or 20,000.  Their sense of excitement and accomplishment at achieving their goals is incredible, especially when you realize I don't give them anything for making their goal.  Their reward is the same as is the reward for every one of my students who writes: a printed copy of their story, double-sided, on regular letter-sized paper.

And then, every year, there's the student who makes me remember why I do this, and why we should all have hope in the future generation.  Actually, this year, I don't have one student -- I have two.  These two girls -- a pair of 5th grade twins -- set goals of 9,000 and 10,000.  They passed those goals early in the first week of NaNoWriMo.  I don't know what put the idea in their heads then, but they decided that since 10,000 was so easy, they wanted to go for 50,000. 

Now, I'm always encouraging of any student who wants to try it, but I do make sure they realize what a challenge it is, even for adults.  These two were not dissuaded.  They wrote.  And wrote.  And wrote.

And then they had a death in the family and had to take an unexpected trip to Florida at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.  They had a very limited ability to write while they were in Florida, but they wrote when they could.

They got back yesterday, November 30, and started typing at home.  About 8:00 last night I checked my school email, and they had both emailed me: they did it.  These two girls, who just turned eleven years old this month, did what only 15% of the adults who try it can: they reached a monthly total of 50,000 words.  To say that I, as their teacher, am proud is a gross understatement.  I'm thrilled beyond words at what they achieved.

This drives home a couple of lessons for me:

• Nothing is impossible  Even if you're a fifth grader trying to write 50,000 words in a month, the only dream that's impossible is the one you've given up on.
• Persistence pays off.  The key to getting what you want is to keep at it, no matter what.  You can't let age stand in your way, or ability, or distractions on your time and efforts.
• Rejoicing in a job well-done isn't a bad thing.  I hope these two girls are at home tonight taking a nice rest, because after the vast effort they've put in, they deserve a little time to just revel in what they've done.

For those of you who participated in NaNoWriMo, I hope you're enjoying your accomplishment.  For those who have completed some other creative endeavor, take the time to enjoy it ... but not too long.  We'll talk more about that on Sunday.

And hey, S. and E. -- Great job.  I'm so proud of you.