I will be the first to admit it, I am a Facebook junkie. It’s my New Year’s resolution to break the habit, but in the mean time I am inundated with the typical end-of-the-year “list projects” in my news feed. This year, it is the “Top 10 books that have stayed with you”. So when faced with sitting down to do a “Year in Review” of the Connecting Justice Communities Blog, I’m taking a page from Facebook, and reflecting on the blogs that will stay with me and why:
- When I need inspiration from the powerhouses that work in our communities, re-reading the Superstorm Sandy Series blog series and the Celebrate Pro Bono Week Series always leaves me ready to stretch myself, and do a little more. In fact, all the interviews with pro bono attorneys remind me of the power that true justice creates.
- When I need a new perspective on a problem that I’m facing, the blog about the Immigration Advocates Network’s new DACA mobile app (and indeed, blogs on all their work) always helps reorient me. The Top Ten Tech Tips works well for this too!
- When I’m looking to attend conferences or participate in a webinar, checking out past blogs reminds me of the larger themes in our community and helps me feel more prepared to step away from my computer and interact with the world.
- When I need a moment to feel proud of the work we do (and we all need those moments), looking back to those programmatic accomplishments, such as the launches of the FEMA Appeals site, our national and state LawHelp.org site, the LEP Complaint Resource Center, and others, is an easy pick me up.
- And of course, when I’m overwhelmed and feeling like there is just too much to do, reading It’s a marathon not a sprint brings me back and grounds me.
This is by no means a complete list, (for a full list you’d have to read all the series in our blog!) but it’s a place to start. By just sitting down to write this I am more excited than ever to see what next year holds!