Hello, Fellow Steemians!

I think everyone here has a little bit of “I want to change the world” in them. I think that’s why we’re here, to create and share interesting content with like-minded people in the hopes that it will be of value to at least one person. To build a community. To leave a meaningful imprint of ourselves in history and to help others do the same. To do what we can, with what we have, in the time that we’re given, to change the world.

It’s also why I became an English teacher. It certainly wasn’t for the lucrative salary or the “easy” schedule. I was driven by a passion, a fire within that burns too hotly and too fiercely to ignore. A passion to help people, to share knowledge and love of literature, to evoke enthusiasm, and to touch the lives in some way of every child that walks through my classroom door.

But I want to do more than just teach, I want to create things that may one day be taught. I want to influence and innovate, I want to explore and document, I want to help and to heal and to give my heart to the world. Just like so many of you.

In order to do these things, I need to follow the call of my soul. I am a wordsmith by birth and it’s a large part of who I am. I think it’s no coincidence that my name, Devon, means “writer of poetry.” And my soul calls me westward, specifically to California. To teach, to write, to paint, to create.

"I have an ocean of words trapped inside me
and the currents are so strong, I fear I may drown if I
don't release the floodgates,
don't release the words,
don't write."
-Devon Marie Ertle

But let’s be real-- California is expensive, student loans suck, teaching pays shit, and I’m broke and on the verge of being homeless. Nobody said the road to success would be a glamorous one and I don’t doubt at least some of you are very familiar with the struggle. Which right now is very, very real. As much as I would like to pack up and move, the dangers of crossing the country as a new graduate without a job, place to live, or a penny to my name terrify the living shit out of me.

But if we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting the rest of our lives. So here’s to taking leaps of faith, even if it means plunging into unbearable darkness, hoping for a safe landing but knowing it could end with a SPLAT! Here’s to a journey of written words exploring education, literature, psychology, sociology, spirituality, art, the universe, and this crazy rollercoaster ride we call life. I hope you’ll all continue to venture with me into the unknown as this girl tries to do what she can, with what she has, in the time she’s given, to change the world.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt