Midnight musings on writing and technology

This week was the first curriculum night at Lu's school, where she is attending kindergarten. Her teacher talked a lot about how she is teaching the students to read through small group instruction. I am so excited for Lu to learn how to read, because I know what an exciting new world this will open up for her. I have dreams of our whole family lazing around the house on a Sunday afternoon, each engrossed in our respective books.

People are often surprised when I tell them about my background as an English major and first job as an editor. I moved my career to technology because I was interested in the subject matter. My career path has not surprised me, because I feel that strong writing and communication skills are a fundamental component of any employment. This is especially true when it comes to technology, with complex architectures and detailed project plans. Even though I'm rarely the most technical person in the room, my ability to translate complex technological ideas into laymen's terms makes me a valued asset to the businesspeople present.

Despite leaving my English major and editing roots, I have never lost my love of reading and communication. I am an avid reader and have written on this blog about how I love to read and adore my local library.

In my blog post today, I am blogging to raise money for the literacy charity Reading is Fundamental. Low literacy is more of a problem than you might think! It's correlated with poverty and incarceration, and affects 22% of the US population. For more facts on low literacy and what you can do about it, please visit Grammarly's blog post, which inspired tonight's ramblings.