My Life in Words

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My Life in Words
My Life in Words- A Love Story

• A Love Story
• By Jennifer Long

By Jennifer Long
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The Early Years
I was always a verbal child, even before the age
of one. I preferred to express my needs and
opinions vocally, creating a great deal of
exhaustion for my parents and older brother!
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A Writer is Born
When I was barely five years old, I got caught
stealing caramels from the kitchen cupboard. To
apologize to my mother, I felt most comfortable
penning a heartfelt note that read mom im sry.
Translated, it meant Mom, I am sorry. My
mother kept the note, and the phrase Im Sry is
still used lovingly in our family to this day-and
I am still expressing my feelings through writing!
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Richer than me you never will be, I had parents
who read to me!

• Our home was always filled with music and
  literature. My brother, sister, and I were
  blessed with parents who instilled in us a
  lifelong love of language and an understanding of
  its value. We belonged to book clubs, were
  frequent library visitors, and co-wrote bedtime
  stories. Literacy was a Family Affair!

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My Heart on my Sleeve

• In school, I was a reader and writer and everyone
  knew it. I excelled in the language arts all my
  life, but struggled with the concrete disciplines
  of math and science. I usually passed the time
  in those classes writing poetry in the back of my
  notebooks.

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A Career in the Making
I received my primary and secondary education in
the Gretna Public Schools, and I was lucky enough
to have truly gifted teachers. One in
particular recognized my academic strengths and
weaknesses and took me under her wing, helping me
to find balance. She entered my writing in
scholarship contests, coached me to become a
state champion speaker, and made me want to do
the same for others. Because she saw me for all
that I could be, she changed the course of my
life. Because of the way I was taught, I am a
teacher, too.
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The Long Road Home
I graduated in 1999 from Nebraska Wesleyan
University with a degree in Theatre Arts. I felt
trapped by the idea of returning to my home town
to teach. I wanted to see the world, and I did
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Travelin Show

• I made my living after college touring with a
  theatre group based out of Goshen, Indiana. We
  performed morality plays in middle and secondary
  schools. While I thought I would be living a
  dream, I was surprised to feel homesick and
  bored. Another realization made its way into my
  psyche, I never wanted to leave the schools we
  performed at. I found myself jealous of the
  teachers who had such wonderful careers. I gave
  in to my calling. I have never been happier.

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I came home.
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And Finally . . .

• Today I am earning my teacher certification in
  the Fast Track to Teaching Program at the College
  of Saint Mary. I cannot wait to share the passion
  for language that I have developed with my
  students, and help them to understand that no
  matter where their road leads them, literacy is
  the singular item that they cannot afford to
  leave home without.

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Jennifer the Writer

• Laying in the bed at the close of day, my dear
  old friends - words, return to me. In the hustle
  and bustle of life, they lay dormant, but when
  the serenity of the promise of sleep presents
  itself to them, they find me, tease me, forcing
  me to wake and write them.

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• The yellow smoke dances around her angelface,
• The same sweet sulfur of my childhood.
• She names it Snake.
• And adds Mommy, s-s-s, impressing me yet
  again with her cleverness.
• In the twilight to me
• she is the universe-
• The reason the stars are beginning their song-
• to search for her rhythm
• and know true light.

From Paytons Holiday By Jennifer Long
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Jennifer the Listener

• Patience is a virtue, and when you are a
  childrens librarian and the mother of a toddler,
  it is truly divine. Everyone who talks to me has
  the inherent right to complete their thoughts,
  whether it be a professor talking about Freud or
  a preschooler talking about toilet practices . .
  . I listen and I hear. Yes, it takes more time
  than simply waiting for an opening to speak, but
  I have heard symphonies that others have missed.

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Jennifer the Talker

• Come on, I majored in Theatre! Talking is my
  thing!

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Words to Live By

• If we cannot communicate, what kind of life can
  we have? I have spent 26 years in the pursuit of
  the right words, and I intend to help my students
  on their journeys to do the same. I am a reader,
  writer, talker, listener, and am encouraging my
  childs instincts to be the same. I honestly
  believe the gift of language to be the greatest
  treasure in all the world.

My daughter, Payton, at 19 months.