Homeschool Writing and Then Some
Ever wish you had someone who could hold your hand through this homeschool journey and help you know what’s important and what might trip you up? That’s what this podcast aims to do, especially as it pertains to preparing middle/high school kids to be successful writers. Because teaching teens to write can be tricky. What exactly are you supposed to teach? And how are you supposed to teach it? What if your child hates to write? What if you hate to write!? These are some of the challenges we’ll explore each week. If you’re looking for guidance as well as a little bit of encouragement and a lot of inspiration, you’ve come to the right place.
Homeschool Writing and Then Some
Ep #29 Student Writing for Publication: An Interview with Homeschool Student Melody Polar
Have you ever wondered what it might look like for a homeschooled student to use writing as a form of ministry and public communication? In today’s episode, I talk with Melody Polar, a recent homeschool graduate and former student of mine, who shares her journey from English class to Christian blogging.✨
Melody started her blog, Roses in a Thorny World, at just sixteen years old. In this conversation, she walks us through how she launched her blog, how she built an audience, and how she keeps going even when life gets busy. But what stood out most? Her deep understanding of writing as both personal expression and spiritual encouragement.
🎧 In this episode, you’ll hear:
- how a homeschool teen discovered writing as a creative outlet
- what sparked Melody’s desire to publish her words
- a step-by-step look at how she started her blog—from surveys to platforms to email lists
- the pros and cons of Wix vs. Substack for beginner bloggers
- tips for inspiring reluctant writers (don't miss the last 10 minutes!)
- how publishing—even in small ways—can change how students view writing
Whether your student dreams of writing fiction, keeping a journal, or encouraging others through devotionals, Melody’s story offers practical ideas and heartfelt encouragement. Her voice is fresh, faithful, and full of wisdom beyond her years.
Links Mentioned
I have a really special episode for you today. I am talking with a former student of mine. Her name is Melody Poehler. She was a homeschool student who just graduated from high school this year in 2025. I invited Melody to be on the show because I wanted her to talk about how students can write for publication. She started her own blog called Roses in a Thorny World a year and a half ago. And in our conversation, she talks about how she got the idea for the blog. The process that she followed to bring it from dream to reality and where she gets her inspiration for writing and make sure that you listen all the way to the end because the last part is so good, especially if you have a child who doesn't like to write because she talks about the reasons that kids often hate to write and how you can make writing into an activity that they enjoy. I was definitely taking notes. So you don't want to miss out on that. So make sure you listen all the way to the end. So without further ado, here's Melody. So my guest today is Melody Poehler. And I met Melody... couple of years ago when she was a student in my AP English language class and then she was a junior then and then she also took my AP English lit class last year as a senior and so what I remember is that on the first day of class I called her by the wrong name and she immediately corrected me gently but firmly because that's the way she is and I was mortified oh my goodness But I also admired her willingness to speak out because I've had students just sit there and not correct me for whatever reason. I mean, maybe it's their name or some other mistake that I've made. You know, I've spelled a word wrong on the board. I mean, things that maybe are not very consequential. But once you like have a mistake out there, like a name that can get entrenched and harder to correct later. So I knew right away that Melody was the kind of person who wasn't afraid to speak out and correct error. And you know what? The world needs people like that. So Melody is here today to share how she went from thinking of writing as just another school subject to using it as a powerful tool for ministry to encourage other young women and proclaim truth. So she's going to tell us about how this transformation happened. But before we get to that, Melody, I'd like you to introduce yourself and maybe just tell us a little bit about your background as a homeschooler.
SPEAKER_00:Okay so I started I was homeschooled since kindergarten and I was really I was really upset about that because like I wanted like the social setting which is funny looking back on that I'm not that social but back then I wanted like I wanted the kids I wanted my own little desk with a chair and They don't actually have those, but that's what I wanted. That's what I thought I'd get. They don't have those, so it didn't really matter. But getting to be homeschooled has really opened up so many doors. Like the writing thing, I would not be able to do that if I was in private school, public school, because I won't have the time for it. So I like being homeschooled and I've grown up in a very, very small church, like We're like 12, 13 people maybe at this point. And that's really helped me grow spiritually. And it's what influenced me to write about that. And it's opened up more doors for me because like a small church, you grow so much more than when you're in a big church. Because I started in a big church and you can just learn like normal Sunday school stuff like this. King David and Jonathan or memorize short verses like the Beatitudes or John 3.16. But when you're in a small group such that you don't have the opportunity to branch off into kids groups or teen groups, you get so much more because the kids get to sit in with the adults and they learn the adult level stuff. And then I've got people like, how do you know that much? I paid attention when daddy was teaching adults Sunday school, but it's, it's been fun.
SPEAKER_01:Good. Okay. So that's a little bit about who she is and her background. And so she's been homeschooled that you've like never gone to public school.
SPEAKER_00:I would like private school, but it was like, um, Christian school for preschool, but I don't count that. Okay. Yeah. I didn't count. It's like daycare sort of. Right. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01:No, I think that that's legitimate. Okay, so you started a blog a couple years ago. It's probably been a
SPEAKER_00:year and a half. It's been a year and
SPEAKER_01:a
SPEAKER_00:half, maybe. Personally, for my own blog, I've been writing for publication for probably a little longer than that. Not quite two years.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so when you decided that you wanted to write a blog, how did that come about?
SPEAKER_00:Well, so I've been going to your class for, I think, well... let's see, it was January. So that was about six months. No, three months, three months. Yeah, three months. And then I found I was watching this thing called Worldwatch. They had an ad in the middle for crazy writing week. I'm like, wow, that looks cool. And it's free. Mom, can I do this? And she's like, sure, go do that because you like to write. Okay, great. And then I get into it. I'm like, this isn't just for people who enjoy writing or people who want to do better in school. This is for people who are really into writing. Like they want to be writers when they grow up or editors or something like that, where you are writing is the foundation of your life. And I'm like, this is so cool because I haven't been exposed to this, but there were thousands of people around the world who were between 13 and I believe the highest age was 25 for that. And that young people, just like me who loved writing so much, some of them had actually have books that were published and we were watching videos that were teaching you how to write at a young age and get it out there and make people see. And I'm like, I want to do this. Like, mom, I want to do this. And you're like, well, we'll see. And I met this guy while we were doing it. And he was like the center of like the whole thing, like on our team, we were writing for competition. So there were teams, we split up in teams and on our team, there was this one guy and he, he was like, Very charismatic personality. We were all interacting with his posts. And when the week was over and we were splitting up, he wanted to start this blog. And then that night he's like, guys, I'm so sorry. I forgot. Our family's going on a screen fast, so I won't be able to write. So would some of you like to write and help me with this blog? I'm like, mom, can I please do this? Can I please, please write for this blog? And she's like, okay. So I got... slotted to write the devotionals and verse week posts. And I liked it so much. But as I was writing, I wanted my own schedule. And I started feeling God calling me to write instead of just for this audience for this blog was like younger people, like teenagers. I felt God leading me to write more with a focus on women. And while I could do that, And the group publication, it was kind of hard because like the guy who started it was a guy. So I'm going to go branch out and do like all girl stuff. So I started thinking about starting my own blog. I'm like, mom, can I do this? Dad, can I do this? And they're like, well, if you want to figure out for yourself, you do the research and you figure out how to do it and you're doing it and you're committed to it, you can do it. I'm like, okay. So I did it. And I was like, This is cool.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah. That's great. So I want to back up just a little bit because writing is has not always been your passion, right? I mean, you were, so I know you were a good writer because when you came into my AP class, I mean, I read your papers and clearly you had had good writing instruction, but you were more in the music
SPEAKER_00:part of it, right? I was, yeah. Well, when I was younger, I would have like bursts of inspiration. You'd write something and then it would be like, I don't really want to write this because, you know, when you're writing for school, And you have the assignments. You don't get to pick what you're writing. You can maybe pick the topic, but the curriculum says, oh, you're going to write a research paper. Oh, you're going to write a haiku. You're going to write this. You're going to write that. You don't get a pick. And so when you start writing on your own, you find out I can write what I want to write. Then it opens up writing so much more. And I think a lot of kids who hate writing would actually like it if they could just write whatever they want. That's what you want to do. You want to follow what you're inspired to do. But writing wasn't that for me until I got older because that's when it opened up. And whereas with my music, I played violin, I played piano. I didn't like playing piano that much because I started when I was four. At least that's what mom tells me. I don't remember. And I did the first few pages and I quit because I didn't have the drive to do it. I didn't want to do it. And then as I got older, I'm like, oh, I want to do this, mom. So she's like, but you quit before. I'm like, well, I really want to do it this time. So then we started and I got all through. I finished all my dad's piano books and we started another set, but I didn't finish that because piano wasn't really my thing. I preferred playing my violin and I still play my violin a little bit. I still love to play, but I hurt my wrist a couple years ago. I think it was a couple years ago. I got tendinitis and that makes it really hard with the violin because you're like using your wrist the whole time. I can't do it as much now. And it was during that period when I started shifting my focus to writing because it still gave me an opportunity to express my creativity and my love and passion for something. But I can do it like on my computer, which was like a lot less stressful on my wrist than playing my violin was. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Okay. Well, I like what you said about if... students were given the opportunity to write what they really wanted to, that that probably would like fuel more writing. And I think that that's absolutely true. Although I will say that for my audience, like when they're in elementary school, they have to learn how to write first. Okay. So you have to lay the foundation, but then I agree, like as they're getting into late middle school, high school, you can start branching out more and giving them more
SPEAKER_00:license to choose their own projects and that can definitely fuel creativity for some students now some students don't like that like they want to you know they want to be directed and you know given some boundaries and then you know explore their ideas within those boundaries but yeah I like what you said about that okay so you decided to start your own blog that was targeted towards younger women like women your teen women right teenagers more your age but specifically
UNKNOWN:specifically for women. Had you ever done publishing before?
SPEAKER_00:Is that, or was the blog really the first publication that you were involved with? Like, it kind of depends on how you look at it. Cause there was like, when I was younger, when I was telling the first of inspiration, write something, it was my brother's birthday and I wanted to write him. I wrote, I wrote him a story called Stanley, the superworm. It was an awful story. It was like a really, really bad story. It was a good story, but it was like, the writing was terrible. I wrote this story. And I gave it to him. I had this sheet of notebook paper. I gave it to him. I crocheted him a little worm to go with it. A little blue worm with button eyes and a green foam cape. Stanley the Super Worm. He still probably got it somewhere in his room. And then for Christmas, a few years later, my grandma got me this box. I forget what the company was called. And you, if you like... You formatted it either on the paper. It came in the box or online and sent it to them. They would send you a printed copy of the story. I'm like, I'm going to do this with that story. I wrote my brother and give it to him for his next birthday. So I technically gave him the same birthday present twice. But this one was like. It was longer lasting because it was like the hard found book. And then it got sent to me. I realized that it's like some of the illustrations didn't go all the way through. But I thought it was like the coolest thing that I had this actual book. And like people could go on and like purchase a copy for themselves. I don't think anybody did that. But it was really cool. And I think... I wrote something for the homeschool newsletter a while back. I don't remember if I actually did that or not. I wanted to pony express, like backward back before it was like the, they had select writers when you can like send something in. I think I sent in a poem once and that got published. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So just so let me fill you in on to the pony express has been around for a long time in our local Roanoke area. And it's an avenue for, or it used to be, and it still is an avenue for for homeschool students to be able to publish creative writing. And it doesn't have to just be fiction. There are articles and nonfiction pieces as well and artwork, but it's like a creative magazine for students. So that's what she's talking about when she's referencing the Pony Express. So when I teach like the writing process, the last part of it is publication. And I realized that a lot of times just practically speaking, you can't put every piece of writing out to be published, but as you can hear from what Melody's sharing, it really does make a difference. It infuses your writing with so much more meaning when you can actually put it out in the public, whether that's a blog or something like a literary magazine, or even if you're just getting together with friends to have some kind of poetry reading or whatever. Looking for ways that you can actually publish your writing in whatever form that looks like really does help to make writing itself a more meaningful thing. And you see it as a as something powerful and a creative outlet. So anyway, thank you for sharing that. So you decided you were going to publish this blog. And so now, you know, for people who are like intrigued by this idea. I wanted you to walk us through. So you have shared with us how you got in contact with somebody, but let's say somebody wants to go start a blog. Like what would you, what would you suggest maybe? Well, actually first, why don't you share what you did and then you can tell us how you might've done it differently or if you would have. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:So when I first got into writing, I said it was during this big event called crazy writing week, where you met online with thousands of other people from all over the world who were like you, who liked to write. And I remember one of the videos, was talking about blogging. That's how I got interested in it in the first place. And the guy was talking about how if he was going to start his blog again, how he would start it. And I remember watching it and I was like, sort of filing it away in my brain, but I wasn't as into it at that point, but I was following away in my brain. And he's like, I would create this survey and send it to people and ask them what they want to read. They want to subscribe before I start it. They want to share it with their friends. So I thought that was a great idea. So I did the same thing. So by the time I started my blog, I had 40-some subscribers before I even launched. And then I was researching different ways because some people can have the... the smarts to be able to create their own website code and everything. And I did not have that as a 16-year-old. I still don't have that. So when I was looking and I found Wix was what I started with. The group publication I did before with my friend was on Blogger Blogs Blog. Blogspot. I think that's the Google platform. It's not the best. I found Wix because I like the way it could aesthetically organize things and stuff. It's really simple to figure out. I know other people like to use WordPress. That's what my church uses for its website. And so I started on Wix and I had three posts before I launched. I made it go public in the settings. And I had one that was like a devotional, one that was a verse of the week. So I was basically just taking what I've been doing on the group publication and changing it a little bit to fit my own blog. And then I had like an about post and stuff and I posted it and I got like a few likes because at that point it was private because for like Wix and website builders... In general, you generally have to pay for a custom domain and stuff if you actually want it to be public. But it's great if you're more introverted or something or you're not quite sure you want to go public yet because you can just share it with friends, have your friend share it with other friends, and you can still build up a little bit of a following. But keep it smaller.
SPEAKER_01:This is
SPEAKER_00:on Wix. Yeah, that's on Wix. And that's W-I-X. Yeah, W-I-X. I've tried typing it out before. It always spellchecks it, but it's W-I-X.
SPEAKER_01:W-I-X.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So if
SPEAKER_01:you're looking and you want to start on that
SPEAKER_00:platform, that might be a good place to start. Wix was a great place to start for more private. And also, it was aesthetically very pleasing. And it was very easy. It's free. It's free. And it's easy to figure out. But this is private. If you want to actually make it public, you want people to see it, you're going to have to pay with Wix, WordPress, or most any... other website builders. And then generally, as I went on, you want an email list so you can get people to find the blog post. When you post a new post, you want people to see it instead of just looking up occasionally. So some people can use their website, like already has an email list built in. I think Wix, you can have up to a hundred people on your email list before you have to start paying. But most people outsource, get their own, get a different platform to do their email list and integrate it. So I used... I think what I used was email octopus was what I used and you have to set up an account and stuff. And I linked it to my, to my blog. You can put generally, you can put a page in there on your blog, link it to your newsletter and they can sign up and you can send emails when you post new post or just like just send emails to your subscribers, like telling about yourself or asking if they want to share something with your blog or whatever. But that's how I got started. As I went along, it was really annoying because it's hard to grow when you don't have... It's not public. And I didn't have the$15 a month to make it public with that website builder. And by this point, the guy who started the original blog I was writing for, which I had left, had switched his over to Substack. which at first I was like, I don't like Substack because it's got like a Twitter sort of feature integrated into it. So it's not for everybody. So if you want to stay off social media, don't use Substack. But for me, Substack was easy because it was free and you can make it public for free. And because of the social media aspect of it, it's easier to grow. So when I switched over to Substack, I started seeing growth exponentially. It was like crazy. I was like... Two or three months on Wix. Two or three months now. It was several months. And I don't think I topped 60 subscribers. It was a very small amount when I switched over to Substack. And it's, I would, I hit a hundred in a few months. And now after being on there for about a year, I now have like 300 and some, so it, it grows more. But if you are writing more, just you undo writing privately, then stick with like Wix or WordPress or something. And Substack is like even easier than Wix to figure out.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. And you also, so at what point did you name your blog? So let me, before you tell us, so the name of her blog is Roses in a Thorny World. But it's interesting the way you decided on the
SPEAKER_00:name. Yeah, I did. I did. So when I sent out the survey initially to get people interested in it before I started it, I had like a list of names. I don't even remember what some of the other names were anymore. But one of them was Rosen Authority World. And I asked people like, vote, which name do you think is best for like a devotional blog? for young Christian ladies. I don't think Roses in a Thorny World was the top pick for most people, but my mom was like, I think you should do Roses in a Thorny World because your middle name is Rose and it's got symbolism and you've got a story behind it. And so that's the one I eventually landed on. Plus, the roses, because it's in the name, it's really easy to figure out logos and stuff and color schemes because... The rose is like red, green, pink, and just like a rose all over the page. And it's very easy to figure out aesthetically what a blog looks like when you have a name like that. Like you can't get that with all names. And maybe that's just me, but Rose in an Authority World gave me a jumpstart for the more aesthetic feel of it because I was more into the writing aspect. So having a name like that where I could draw from just the name to figure out what the page would look like was a lot easier.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Right. So I actually got to vote on that. I voted for that one. I did. I voted for it because I liked the symbolism of it. I mean, I'm an English teacher after all. So, you know, I can't, I don't remember what the other choices were, but that one like really stood out to me. So it sounds like you're happy that you, that you went with that. That was a good name. So I also wanted to know how you went about advertising because I know there was something on YouTube, a video that you you put at the beginning. Now, was that once you switched over to Substack or was that when you were still on Wix or do you, it probably doesn't matter. I know I watched it again recently and was reminded that that
SPEAKER_00:was there. I've had a couple of like, I called them like promos or trailers been writing. I think I wrote, I did the one when I was on Wix and then once I switched to Substack, I'm like, oh, I'm going to have to redo this because the domain was different with Substack. So I had to redo it and I have to redo it again because I like changed some of the things I was doing on the blog. But yeah, Doing that was a great way to advertise and make things visual because lots of people like to look at things visually. That's why we have ads all over TV, which are annoying, but it works because you see people buying those things. So the survey was one way I did it. I did the video a little after I launched the blog. I have my mom and a few other people sharing on Facebook, other social media accounts. and just like word of mouth. When I switched over to Substack, it will generate a QR code for you. So I have business cards with a little QR code on it. You can scan, send you directly to my blog and then just like links and stuff like on my, I used to have a Goodreads account. I would have a link under that on my YouTube. I have the link. I'm thinking about doing like a link tree where you have all my links, but there's lots of ways to advertise. And as I've been on Substack, they have the social feature. So that's a way to get your name Just being in the blogging community. having other bloggers that you know who will help you. Like there's this one girl on Substack and she published one of my short stories for me. So that got my name in and people could find me from her blog. And then the Sunshine Blogger Awards going around and we're sharing each other's blogs and just advertising other people's blogs is also a way because then those people look at your blog.
SPEAKER_01:Right, right. There's lots of, right. Lots of avenues for getting the word out. Okay. So let's talk about the content of your blog and, you know, maybe tell us like, what's your mission with the blog and what do you, do you publish it once a week, once a month? What's your schedule like? And just, what are you trying to, what are you trying to do each time you publish?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So the initial idea behind it is to just write like encouraging posts drawn from scripture for young women who want to grow in Christ, help them bring them closer to Christ, give them encouragement, find good Christian resources. At this point, I'm trying to publish once a week. My schedule is fluctuated. I used to do like two per week. Sometimes like I'm just so tired or something that I just like, nope, not this week. We're not doing it. Some people are like super organized. I used to be that person. I used to be the person who was super organized and they have this structure and they want to do it. And if that's you, that's great. You can do that. And then other people, you don't have the time to do that, or you don't actually have the inspiration to do that. Maybe you can only write when you're inspired and then it's hard to do that on a schedule because you don't get inspiration on schedule. So, so for me, it's like, Once a week, and then I send out a monthly newsletter, either at the end of the month or at the beginning of the next month. And so that generally amounts to four or five posts a month. And I post different things. I'll post a devotional. I'll post a closer look at just like one single verse. I've posted poems. And I also post what I call Rose's Recommendations, where I will recommend a good Christian resource, normally one directed specifically to ladies, since that is my audience. I've done a few of those, which helps find find resources that I've enjoyed that's helped me grow closer to God. And then a newsletter, just like recap, this is what we looked at this month. And this is what we can look at next month. And this is where I am in my walk with Christ this month. Where are you in your walk with Christ this month? And it's just fun. And then I have like a chat integrated into the blog now where you can like reach out, build community with other Christian ladies if you want to. That hasn't quite taken off yet, but Hoping it will. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:That sounds good. So it sounds like more than having like your, you don't really have your blogs planned out for you more just organically, you know, as you're inspired what's on your mind and that's what comes out. Yeah, that's good. So I saw your, one of your recent posts that you did an interview with your grandmother. Do you want to tell us about
SPEAKER_00:that? So one thing I'm hoping to do this summer and maybe through this next year is do what I'm calling Titus two women interviews where I interview other Christian ladies, some that I know in real life, some that I've met in the blogging community and interview them so that they can help encourage other women just as they've encouraged me to grow in the Lord. And so the first one I did, I knew I wanted to do my grandma because my grandma's very important in my life because she lives near me. I'm blessed to have a grandmother who lives near me. And I interviewed her. That was so much fun. It's a lot of fun to do that, just doing the interview itself. And we had a lot of fun doing that. And it's fun to see where it will go because it's not your thoughts. Don't you get asked the questions, but you don't, you don't know what they're going to say. Like you, you've observed them maybe. So you, you, you know, kind of where they are, but it was fun to do that. It's just post the conversation. I don't plan to do all of them the way I did that one because my grandma's like, I want you to edit it and make it like clean grammar and stuff. I'm like, but then it won't sound like you. But it ended up great. And I had like so many people telling me what a great idea that was. And I'm hoping to do some more this month, next month to interview other ladies because in Titus 2, it says that the older women are to teach the younger women. And we younger ladies need to learn from women who have been walking with the Lord and learn from them. And that's just the way I've branched out and hope that others can encourage people through my blog, just as I'm trying to do that.
SPEAKER_01:So I love that you're using writing as ministry and you're getting ready to go away to college. And so are you thinking that you'll use your writing like as a, do you think you're going to go into a career that involves writing or what are your, what do you see your future plans? And I know those could change, but just as you look
SPEAKER_00:at it right now. Currently my plans are to do women's ministry when I'm in college. I'm hoping to be like a Christian author when I grow up. At one point, I want to do fiction. I still have like fiction ideas going through my head. But as I've gone through high school, I feel like my writing abilities lean more towards the nonfiction. That's what I write on my blog, mostly nonfiction and poetry. And I also want to be a pastor's wife, which will also, if that happens, that will give me abilities, the avenue to write for ladies in my church, maybe do Bible studies. And that's what I want to do with my life. And be a mom, of course.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's so encouraging to hear a young woman talking about that and just, yeah, from a biblical perspective. So do you think in the short term, you're going to keep your blog going? I mean,
SPEAKER_00:is the plan to do that? In the short term, yes. I want to keep doing it. With college coming up, I don't know, the schedule might change. I'm hoping it won't because like, One post a week isn't that hard. That's what I was able to do through high school. I'm hoping to keep the same schedule, write the same kinds of things. I don't know. College might be so much different that I will have to change the schedule and just write when I can. But I want to keep writing. The blog has opened up opportunities for me to make friends that I have not had in my life. I don't want to say real life because friends online are also real life. But just... Physical, physical life. I don't know what the word is, but you know, people that you're actually coming in person. I don't have that much because it's a really small church. We don't have visitors come because we're in a house. People, people don't just going to show up at house because you don't have a sign or whatever. So, um, the blog has opened up so much to me because studying to write, um, that helps you grow closer in your, with your walk with God. You grow in that, just studying to write the devotionals yourself. Because the blog, I'm hoping what I'm writing is helping others to grow closer to God, but it's helping me grow closer to God too. And being in the blogging community, I've made new friends. I've had new opportunities to branch out in my writing. And the blog has been important to me in helping broaden my horizons. And I want to continue to do that as I go into college.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right. So hopefully people are intrigued and want to know more about you and read your blog. So how can people find your blog or find more information about you?
SPEAKER_00:Well, you can find me, the blog is on Substack. It's rosesandauthorianworld.substack.com. Substack is S-U-B-S-T-A-C-K. And you can find me on there. I'm on YouTube, just on your Melody Polar. I'll also write for another publication, which is also on Substack called The Elephant Under the Bridge. I'm not sure what this domain is on that. It's a different domain than the actual name, but it's also on Substack. So
SPEAKER_01:I'll try to get you links for, I'll have the links at the bottom of the podcast for this. I'm on those three platforms. Yeah. Okay. So before we end, is there anything else that you want to say? Anything that we didn't cover that you want to just leave to the listeners?
SPEAKER_00:Writing is like, I feel like writing gets a bad reputation in school because you've got lots of kids who hate writing, who hate reading, who hate English in general because they don't like what they're writing because that's not what they're interested in. Maybe they're writing poems and they'd rather write fiction. Or maybe they're writing fiction and they'd rather write essays. I don't know many kids who want to do that, but maybe you would rather write essays than fiction. I think a lot of kids need to be encouraged to write on their own. Like instead of writing for school, just write on their own. Write what you want to write. Because I know when I did that, that's what helped me be more creative. Like there are things that I've written in the past and I can look back on it and say, that is terrible writing. But it was also fun because that's what's in my brain. And now I can look back at that and say, I remember when I was imagining this story, or I remember what I was feeling when I wrote that poem. And writing gives you a tangible evidence of what you used to think. You can see how you've grown in life, even if it's just a journal, even if it's a book of poetry you wrote. Even if it's just like free verse poetry, it's not what most people will consider poetry, but you consider it poetry because this is your feelings on a page. Or this is what you think about this book that you read. You wrote this book and you loved it so much that you wrote a review without your parents telling you to. And it's so much fun to just write on your own. And when kids start writing on the road, writing what's in their head, then they start to enjoy it. Because I've seen that in my own life. I've seen it in my brother's life and my sister's life. I've still got notebook paper where I started. I was like nine, I think. And I started writing this story about a Mustang, a herd of wild horses. I don't know where I was going with that. I was at the age where I hate plotting. I'm not plotting. Now I have no idea what I was writing. But I still have that. And I can remember how much I loved horses, how much I loved reading the horse books. And writing gives you like a timeline in your life. You can look back and see how you've grown. It gives you a way to express your creativity in ways you can't express it otherwise. Like playing with Legos is a great way to express creativity, but you cannot like create a poem out of Legos. You can't express your feelings as much as with Legos as you can with poetry. And it gives you a creative outlet that maybe you don't have. You don't realize how much you have have inside of you until you put that pen to paper. And then suddenly you realize, oh, I love this. Or I actually want to do this in my life. Because maybe you can't process what you're thinking. You start writing, you're like... I actually am really interested in butterflies. I like to write about butterflies a lot. Maybe I should study butterflies and be a butterfly scientist when I grow up. What's the word for butterfly scientist?
SPEAKER_01:God, I can't help you with. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00:But writing gives you a way to think about yourself. Look, you can write it on paper and come back and look later and get an objective look at your life instead of just going on what you feel in the moment. And you can't really do that on any other way that I know of.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Well, I could not have said that better. That's like, we should like capture that for English teachers everywhere because that was well said. I like the tangible evidence of what you're thinking. I like that characterization of writing. Well, thank you so much for taking the time out of your summer to join us today and giving us like just some great ideas and a lot to think about. Thanks so much. Thank you. So good, right? I had so much fun talking to Melody and I learned so much from her and I hope you did too. I mean, maybe starting a blog would be too much for your student to tackle right now, but hopefully it helped you think of another way that Thanks again for listening, and I'll talk to you soon.