Connecting Communities: This Is What I've Got So Far

Connecting communities online and in the physical domain, The Payson Chronicle is featuring local mompreneurs, bloggers, creatives, and small business owners whose presence in both worlds is worthy of note. For our first feature, we turn to an impressive blog that is the creation of a Goshen resident.

Meet Jenny Staheli, mom, wife, part-time elementary school librarian, and a talented writer who has created an engaging and helpful blog called This Is What I’ve Got So Far.  “I am a mom who works part-time as an elementary school librarian and the rest of my time playing with my family,” she told The Payson Chronicle.  “We're pretty busy.  I have two kids in high school who are involved in soooo many things, and two others who will be.  Between school, the occasional weekend spent with extended family or in the mountains, and reading all the books I can get my hands on, there isn't much time unaccounted for. When I get hit with a big idea, I write a blog about it, because maybe my big idea could be useful to somebody else, but mostly because I enjoy writing it down.  The name of my blog comes from the idea that I'm still a work in progress, but This Is What I've Got So Far.”

We asked Jenny to share with us what it was that compelled her to create her blog.  We asked, where do you see it in a year from now and beyond?  And what advice do you have to share with others who are interested in creating a blog of their own?

Here is her response:

I decided to create my blog for a couple of reasons.  I've always loved to read and write.  In fact, I have a BA in English, with an emphasis on Technical Writing.  I never took the opportunity to get a job as a Technical Writer because I chose stay-at-home motherhood instead, but my love for writing, essays especially, has always  stayed with me.  To be honest, as my kids got older, I felt it mocking me a little because I wasn't using what talent I had to write.  I missed it. And I felt I was good at it.  Also, I wanted a platform that was MINE; one I could use to say what I wanted to say when I wanted to say it.  I didn't really know if anyone would read it or care, but it felt good to have the option.  I know people who have started blogs as sort of a family diary, but that was never my intent.  I wanted it to be a collection of some of the random things I've seen, done, found, or felt -- things that make me who I am -- and if other people found some of it interesting, so much the better.

I would like to expand my blog in time.  Right now, it's pretty basic because I've got a lot of stuff going on in my life, and it isn't my primary focus.  In the next couple of years, I'd like to tweak the layout and add a few features like a recipe section (I love those) and some mom hacks I've discovered from my years in the trenches.  I also hope to get on a more reliable schedule for my posts.  Currently, I just write one when the mood strikes, but my ultimate goal is to publish a book, and I would like to use the blog to help me beef up my writing chops.

My best advice to anyone planning to start their own blog is to write it for themselves.  Sure, you'll have an audience, but you need to create something that matters to YOU.  I believe there's a level of genuineness that resonates with people when you're writing about something you really care about.  Chances are if you feel it and can articulate it, other people will recognize it and respond because they have experienced it too. My most successful posts have been the ones I've felt the most deeply about.  Even if no one ever reads it, it will be satisfying for you.

My experience as a librarian has absolutely changed the way I read, and it's helped me to broaden the way I write.  I work at Goshen Elementary School, and I have for the last seven years.  My job requires me to read a lot of YA literature -- a type I never really considered reading as an adult.  A lot of it is really great.  I also do a lot of lessons on historical events, interesting people and different types of literature; all of it requires research I wouldn't have encountered before.  Putting all that information into context and making it interesting for kids on so many different learning levels is a challenge, but it's forced me to look at our world in fascinating ways.  I never would have realized what a rock star Ben Franklin was or what a gut-punch the construction of the Berlin Wall gave the city if it wasn't for my job. All of it comes out in my writing -- the creativity, the expanse of subjects, the frames of reference have all been affected by what I encounter as a librarian.  Besides which, it's a dreamy job for a reader.

Check out her blog http://thisiswhativegotsofar.blogspot.com/.