Κάποιος κάποτε είπε...

"Ο άνθρωπος αντέχει πολλά.". Χτες ήταν η γιορτή μου. Πήρα αμέτρητες ευχές, κάποιες φιλικές, κάποιες τυπικές. Είμαι ευγνώμων για όλες. Εγώ όμως περίμενα από κάποια άτομα που μοιράστηκα τόσες όμορφες στιγμές κάποτε. Δεν ήρθε κανένα μήνυμα, κανένα τηλεφώνημα. Μέσα μου ήξερα ότι δεν θα έρθουν. Ήλπιζα όμως. Ξέρω, ήταν μάταιο. Ίσως και να το έκανα για να επιβεβαιώσω ακόμα μια φορά την απόρριψη.
Εδώ όμως μπαίνει η τελεία. Και δεν γυρίζω πίσω να δω. Είναι η στιγμή που κλείνω κάποιους κύκλους στη ζωή μου. Δεν ρωτάω το γιατί. Ο καθένας έχει τους δικούς του λόγους. Έτσι είναι οι άνθρωποι. Είναι γεγονός και θα το αποδεχτώ.
Από δω και στο εξής θα ζω για μένα και για τους ανθρώπους που είναι κοντά μου. Είναι ανώφελο να καταναλώνομαι σε σχέσεις που είναι μονόπλευρες. Και αυτό θα το κάνω όχι γιατί είμαι εγωίστρια ή αδιάφορη. Είναι για να μην ζω ένα μικρό θάνατο κάθε φορά που νιώθω απόρριψη.
Χρειάζεται τόλμη για να προχωρήσω μόνη, χωρίς στήριγμα. Έτσι όμως θα ωριμάσω. Είμαι πια πολύ μεγάλη για να συγκρίνω τον εαυτό μου με τους άλλους και να αποζητώ την επιβεβαίωση μέσα από τρίτους. Καιρός, λοιπόν, να προχωρήσω. Όσο δύσκολο και αν είναι. Ξέρω, είναι εύκολο να βρεις αποκούμπι. Δεν είχα καταλάβει, όμως, ότι χάνοντας το, βουλιάζω. Πρέπει να κολυμπήσω μόνη μου και να περάσω όλα τα κύματα της ζωής με το κεφάλι πάνω από το νερό,
Κάθε απόφασή μου θα έχει ένα τίμημα. Το ξέρω. Δεν υπάρχει κέρδος 100% και ζημιά 0%. Το θέμα είναι να αποφασίσω ποιο θα μου στοιχίσει πιο πολύ. Και εκεί δεν πρέπει να υπάρχει γυρισμός. Οι αποφάσεις μου θα είναι τελικές. Τέλος στα πισωγυρίσματα γιατί είναι ένας φαύλος κύκλος.
Δεν μετανιώνω για όσα έχω κάνει και όσα έζησα, είναι θησαυρός μέσα στη ψυχή μου. Θυμάμαι όλα τα πρόσωπα που πέρασαν από τη ζωή μου. Αλλά θα μείνουν εκεί, πίσω.
Καιρός να κάνω το πρώτο βήμα μπροστά. Να είστε όλοι καλά και ευτυχισμένοι! Αλλά τώρα ξεκινώ το ταξίδι για το άγνωστο, βγαίνοντας από την περπατημένη με ένα σακίδιο εμπειρίες και μαθήματα. 

Haiku 2

how lonely she feels 
cause of her fear of risk to 
pursue all her dreams

Roar

no sense, no feeling
 numb crawling to my hollow
 roaring with no roar

11 facts about me

I would like to thank Shelly S Terrell for tagging me in this blog challenge. I couldn't believe it and I felt really honoured. So, how could I refuse?  I would gladly share some facts about me.

Let's start then... 11 astonishing facts about me. They are randomly listed.

1. Everybody knows me as Jo. 

2. In the 3rd grade my mum (English teacher) decided that I wasn't good at English and I started German lessons.

3. I can't live away from the sea.

4. I avoid travelling by ship. I get bored and I get seasick quite quickly.

5. I fell from the 2nd floor, was hit by a car, burnt with an iron. Yes, I guess I have 4 more lives.

6. Ι can't resist gadgets.

7. I have agoraphobia.

8. I love people who make me laugh.

9. I am a secret treasurer. Trust me with a secret and I will keep it as a treasure.

10. I love sharing quotes in Facebook.

11. I believe that knowledge and travelling are life investments that nobody can take from you.

Now, shall we move to the next phase of the mission? I will answer Shelly's questions with no fear at all.

1. What is a goal you hope to accomplish from your bucket list? Visit as many places as I can around the world.
2. What is one goal you hope to accomplish in 2014? I won't let anybody or anything get me down.
3. If you could host a reality TV show, what would it be about? A student with specific learning needs. How do they cope with learning and how teachers can help.
4. How do you blow off steam? I take deep breaths and I walk around the room.
5. What is one of your personal theme songs? CATS- Memory
6. What are you incredibly proud of accomplishing? I am proud of passing the University entry exams in my hometown and completing the German high-school diploma at the age of 18.
7. What was one of your favourite gifts? It was and still is. The diamond cross my husband gave me when our daughter came along.
8. How have you dealt with a past failure? I have learnt from it and let it go.
9. What is one piece of advice that has helped you throughout life? "Give yourself time.  Time heals everything."
10. What was your favourite toy when you were a child? Typical- a teddy bear. I used to sleep hugging it.
11. What’s your favourite piece of art? Clocks- Dali

And now it is my turn to interrogate the 11 bloggers I am tagging...

1. What is your favourite film?

2. What is that you can't stand?

3. What kind of music did you use to listen to when you were a teenager?

4. If you could change anything in the world, what would it be?

5. Who do you have as a role model?

6. What is your favourite book that you have read more than once?

7. What would you ask from a genie?

8. What is your biggest dream?

9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

10. How do you deal with loss?

11. What would you like to change in you?

Please, give a big applause to the bloggers that follow!!!

1. Dimitris Primalis

2. Aphro Gkiouris

3. Ochendo George Raptopoulos

4. Evridiki Dakos

5. Roseli Serra

6. Sophia Mavridi

7. Natasa Bozic Grojic

8. Bernadette Wall

9. Papadeli Sophia

10. Maria Theologidou

11. Vicky Loras

So thankful! #Goal 15

Last night I was thinking who I should thank for my education and inner evolution. You may think I would start by thanking all my teachers at school or my professors at the university. I am sorry but I will disappoint you. I am not going to go through the typical procedure. I truly tried to bring a teacher to my mind but I failed. I don't feel that there was an educator who inspired me or built my confidence.I agree that most of them did their job professionally and taught me all the necessary material and skills to move on but that was as much as they could. I am thankful to my parents who offered me the best education!  

Who I really believe that I should thank are all of you: the educators at conventions, at webinars, on social media! With most of you I may not even meet face to face but all your comments and encouraging words keep me moving and developing. I feel that we share common ideas and look at the future full of hope! You inspired me to set new goals and share my thoughts!

So, simply keep inspiring! 

Update my Digital Footprint #Goal 19

Reading Shelly Terrell's post I realized that I haven't updated my bio in several social media networks. I have an account in  Facebook, Twitter, about.me, Likedin, Google+. I must admit my favourite one is Facebook since it was my first and oldest account in a social media network. Then I tried Twitter but I must confess that I don't visit it much as I find it too impersonal. My husband does not agree with me where he has over 5,000 followers!!! I guess men want brief and fast posts... As for Google+, it is quite convenient since I can share my blog posts directly by just a click. It is also connected with my gmail account and I get informed instantly whether there are comments on any of my posts.
Likedin is just for professional reasons and I can't say that it is the right means for me to promote my work. However, I find many colleagues there and I like that I can list specific teaching skills. They are well organized and promoted. My about.me account is directly connected with my Facebook account which is very handy and I think there is no harm if you register in different social media. It is a way to show your work and promote your goals.
Shelly also suggests Flavors.me and Vizify but I will pass for the time being because I have no more time to spend on social media and I get stressed when I cannot keep up. But I have them on my mind.
Keep posting and sharing! You never know what opportunities are waiting around the corner!!!

Do I dare to dare them?

Having read Shelly Sanchez Terrell's post I dared to take the challenge and share my dream with you. For the last two-three weeks I have set my mind on a project about spreading literature into the world. My inspiration was Theodora Papapanagiotou who aims at cultural exchange and I really enjoyed participating in her project. Then, at some point, I posted poems of Greek writers both in Greek and English. That was the sparking! I started thinking how I can span my students, the English lesson and the world... And that was it!

The idea started growing in me. We chose three Greek literary works ( two poems and a text) and ever since we work on them. The participants are primary school pupils, high school students and freshmen. Their levels are A1+, B2 and C2 respectively. The reaction of the students? It couldn't be better! I haven't seen them so involved in a procedure before. They spontaneously loved the idea!

What are they gaining? 
The list could go on endlessly: they do research, scan texts, highlight the main information, talk about meanings, language treasures, emotions, write down their thoughts, compare the original text with the translated one. And all these in English! What more could a teacher ask for?

What am I gaining?
Well, first of all, I dared to take the challenge; there is more work from my part. I have to sit down and interpret the texts, do my own research, read analysis of experts.
I dared to dream big and be determined to make it true! Will I succeed? Does it really matter? I will have inspired my students, I might have contributed just a little bit in their development, not just linguistically but mentally as well. And if I manage to get English teachers around the world to be involved in the project and share their national literary treasures, that would be my best achievement... so far.