(no subject)

[nny]

Things are going pretty good. Apparently (according to one of the English Department) my mentor has been 'crowing' about me, which of course means that while I started good I have to try harder and get better, and for the first time in a long while I really have the determination to do that. The staff at my new school are far more supportive than my previous placement, and the school itself is fascinating to watch. It works, and the students are generally very well behaved and respectful, and I'm getting terribly spoiled and won't want to teach anywhere else.

Apart from work and planning for work, I've also been reading On Writing by Stephen King a lot. It's really interesting and had some sound advice that I made note of, and through it all there's a very personal touch that's really pleasing to read. It's definitely interesting to find out about what's put him where he is, and although I feel like a slacker in comparison it's given me a few ideas to try. I've also been bunnied with an idea for a YA story about a prince and his bitchy apprentice-wizard sidekick. Although there's also a part of me tempted to turn it into McShep... XD

The thing that I found kind of hard to get over, though, was something I suspect I protested against entirely on the basis that I'm English, really. There was a self-confidence throughout the way the book was written that seemed at times almost crass, almost self-congratulatory, and of course in my country it's Just Not Done to claim competence, really. King was essentially saying 'I know what I'm doing because I've done it successfully' and that's valid and a fair point, but there was still a part of me tutting under my breath. It's something I've also seen talked about as a female thing, the unwillingness to actually step up and say 'y'know what? I rock at this. I've worked hard at this. I deserve praise for it.'

I'd really like it if you'd do that, actually.

Comment here and tell me something that you're good at. Don't qualify it, don't try to diminish it or be modest. Celebrate it right here. :D

Me? I'm good at teaching. I am good at standing in front of a class and imparting knowledge, wording it and rewording it and twisting it about until it fits into their heads. I'm proud of that.

Comments

[jezrana.livejournal.com]

I'm a good singer, and I'm also really good at learning things by ear. Like, after ten-odd years in choir I can barely read music at all, but if I hear a song enough to learn it once I can sing it cold years later.

[apiphile.livejournal.com]

Making you happy. Making derryderrydown and ruthi laugh. Writing poetry that saunteringdown loves.

:D?

Me? I'm good at teaching. I am good at standing in front of a class and imparting knowledge, wording it and rewording it and twisting it about until it fits into their heads. I'm proud of that.

I KNOW ISN'T IT THE BEST THING EVER? Honestly I am so proud I'm your friend.

[lisechen.livejournal.com]

I make some bitchin' stir-fry. And brownies. And, really, I have a latent talent for cooking in general.

[unamaga.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty good at turning any situation into a comedy of errors without even trying. That thing with too much soap in the washing machine? Done it. That thing where you open the oven door and find some sort of monstrous chocolate blob breathing instead of a calm pan of brownies? Done it. \o/

[muji]

My linguistic ability. I take words and sounds that people recognize only vaguely if at all and translate them into a form they understand. Without me doing that, even if it's just for my own consumption, those words would be lost.

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

Yay for teaching! \o/

*squishes*

I rock at being a big sister. No, really, I do. My sister talks to me about everything, and she looks up to me, and it's awesome. Of course, she doesn't remember the first 25 years we spent together so I kind of have a head start (like wowing her with dishes I know she loved but she doesn't remember eating). It's great. And I think it made me more mature.

[agonistes]

I'm getting pretty decent at this whole financial aid for college thing.

More than that, though? I'm good at troubleshooting computers over the phone to see why students are having problems with the process. I've been on the phone for two and a half weeks and already the experienced helpdesk people are coming to me to ask me questions.

This comes as a surprise! But I am not displeased. :D

[hilarytamar.livejournal.com]

::thinks this is a lovely idea & jumps in, suppressing desperate desire to qualify::

I'm good at analyzing things, working through abstract theoretical arguments and figuring out where they work and where they don't, and why. I absolutely rock at this.

I'm also good at learning new languages.

(Thanks for the opportunity here -- it's a damned good idea, especially for women, as you say.)

[spuffyduds.livejournal.com]

I'm good at neckrubs, and copy editing, and writing dialogue, and being very pleased by small things.

[ashen_key]

I think after M'ways I can safely say that I'm pretty damn good at taking a character, and making people see them in an entirely different way.

[forest-rose.livejournal.com]

What a lovely post! We should all do more of recognising our strengths, I think. Teaching's a wonderful thing to be good at - really good teachers, like it sounds like you are, are incredibly valuable and have such an impact. I still remember my favourite teacher, ten years after I left school - she did so much both for my ability and my self-esteem.

Me? I'm good at listening to people, making them feel safe and comfortable expressing their feelings, and making them feel better. People, even complete strangers, tell me their darkest secrets, and go away feeling okay about them.
Also, I'm a pretty good writer.

[lucythedragon.livejournal.com]

I'm not the biggest King fan, but I did enjoy what I've read from that book. I need to just break down and buy it as I own every other writing book written ever.

And that whole thing about it not being proper to congratulate yourself? It isn't just English. A lot of people in the States have that same problem, though I think we handle it a different way. Though it might be a girl thing, as I've mostly seen girls do it. It's maybe seen as unfeminine? Which is stupid.

Oh, and I ROCK AT COOKING. It's usually how I show family and friends how big I love them. It's often pretty healthy as I'm a veggie, but I can make a pretty mean meat dish if someone asks for it. Tonight? Angel hair pasta with a light olive-oil and garlic herb sauce made from scratch. Booyah!

[vivien]

I'm good at teaching little kids. So why the hell am I not doing it?

Hmmm....

[soupytwist.livejournal.com]

I am a good listener.

♥

[skygiants]

I make fabulous chocolate-chip cookies.

I am rather good at hand-sewing - cross-stitching, blind-stitching (my blind-stitching is damn invisible), whip-stitching. I can do that, and I like it.

And, in something a little less Martha Stewart - I'm good at retelling stories in a way that's interesting to people, or so I have been told.

[vimeslady.livejournal.com]

I'm good at making people feel loved and cared for. That's because I'm a natural mother, and I really DO love people I care about.

[genarti]

I'm good at staying calm and patient in almost any situation. I'm good at seeing the good in people. I'm good at improvisational cooking, and I make a mean egg curry. I'm good at accounting, to my own surprise -- it's a puzzle, is all it is, and I'm good at the right kind of tidy organization that makes the pieces fit together. I'm good at graphic design and so forth; I may not have great drawing skills, but I have a very good artistic eye. I'm good at Scottish Country Dancing -- not just that, but I'm good at helping other people through it, and making a whole set feel like they're pretty good at it too.

[fer-de-lance.livejournal.com]

I rock with words. I can spell them, I can define them, I can use them, I can intuit their meaning even if I've never heard them before; 99% of the time I can spell them even if I've never encountered them at all before. I think I'm even good at putting them together; at least, I like to write and what few things I've shared have gone over pretty well. (I'd be more confident of this if I were less lazy, and thus had completed more of the things I so gleefully spend hours crafting.) I will revise and revise and revise until every part of a sentence, every single word, is what I want it to be; I compose sentences like a line of music in my head when a story idea comes to me, word by word, and I actually think in words half the time, moreso if it's late at night.

[fer-de-lance.livejournal.com]

I am also good at patience (this is a double-edged sword, but we'll leave off the negative aspects for now) and at shutting up and dealing when there's nothing else to be done. Spend three hours in a broken elevator with an impatient person and you will know how important this talent is. :D

Eating is the other thing I'm extremely good at. :D No feast too grand, no meal too large, no dessert too rich -- my stomach must be made of Silly Putty, because I know it's got to be impossible to cram that many cookies into a normal human!