#TMC12

I wish I could get this blog post to flow, but I have WAY too much stuff to say...

As far as online things go, I'm a noob.  While I've stalked other people's blogs for about 2 years, I've only been involved in the Twitter community for about a month.  Initially Twitter was not in my plans.  I thought I had enough going on and that adding another site to my already too long sessions online was a waste of time.  I spend plenty of it on Facebook, G Reader, & Pinterest as is.  But, I digress.

So how'd I end up a Twitter Math Camp?  In one of the blog posts written by @druinok I read a statement that resonated with  me.  In essence she stated that she was disappointed with professional development opportunities and mentioned Twitter Math Camp.  So I did what any inquisitive person would  do....I googled it.  This led me to the registration page for the camp.  Keep in mind that at this point I still did not possess a Twitter ID.  I spent the next week relaying to my husband that I thought I might like to go.  He began asking simple questions that made me realize I needed to at least sign up for Twitter and find out more info.  Fast forward about 1.5 months and I'm in the group pic above.  CRAZY!

So, what have I learned?  First and foremost, this group of people that I am now involved with on Twitter is a group that is devoted to doing the best job at teaching mathematics (to kids at all grade levels) that they can possibly do.  They share stories, successes and failures, ideas, give advice, among other things.  But they are also a group of individuals that share parts of their lives with each other as if they simply taught in the next room down the hall.  The sense of camaraderie is unbelievable, especially given that most of them have never met in person.

This last fact made my  going to TMC12 a little more nerve-racking.  Here I am, a complete novice as far as Twitter is concerned, having amassed a total of about 225 Tweets before the conference began, attending with a group of people that "know" each other.  I even asked my husband as I was packing "What if they don't like me?"  His response, "You can get off Twitter and never speak to them again?"  Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.

I now have a group of people that I consider friends - or Twerps - that I can bounce ideas off of, borrow ideas from, encourage, etc.  It's amazing what you can find when you don't even realize you're looking!

Thank you #TMC12 for being such a change for the better in my life.  (Apparently the flow eventually came to me.)