Eyeo, Eyeo, It's Off to Learn I Go

I started blogging 15+ years ago because there were conversations and connections I wanted to have that weren't available through my day job. Did I find what I was looking for? It has been so much more than that. I have had so many opportunities and met so many fantastic people from this small start. It has changed my life in ways I could never have anticipated.

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to go to the Eyeo Festival. It is not an education conference, but one that sits at the intersection of code, data, and design.

https://twitter.com/science_goddess/status/687697887573053441

Why did I go? In part because even all these years later, I am looking for conversation and connection that I don't find at work. Because schools shouldn't be a separate unit from the world we produce in the students who leave our walls. Because I want something bigger than what I have right now.

If it wasn't for this conference, I would not have pushed my data stories project forward. I would not have become someone that others seek out for ways to communicate with data. I would not have a vision of what I want to do with my life over the next 10 - 15 years.

I have been thinking about going again this year. When I went last time, I paid all of my expenses, asking my work place to let me count attending this as work (i.e., I didn't have to use vacation days). I suspect that if I go again, I will have to make the same arrangement. But it is an investment and I think it's worth it. I will check out some costs and then make a decision in the next week or so.

Why don't you meet me there?

Today's tweet was selected from a list provided each day by On This Day.  The account shows a user's full history of tweets for the given calendar date. Just a reminder that I'm going to post a tweet a day from a previous year and expand on it a bit as a way to get back in the habit of sharing via a blog. You can see my full list of tweets posted on this day, or start seeing your own by following that account.