An Afternoon of YAngelism

Last Friday I got to do something a little bit scary, but really exciting! I was a presenter at Maryland's annual SoMIRAC conference. My YA Lit professor, Kelly Bull*, had asked another student and I to present with her at the conference. I was so honored just to be asked, and being a part of the event was truly a thrill.

Our presentation focused on three different areas: Lurita gave a hilarious introduction to digital storytelling, while Kelly focused on how to use YA lit in content area classrooms. Wouldn't you love to read books like Ship Breaker in Science or The First Part Last in Health? Finally, my part focused on the benefits of joining the blogging world.

I had originally been anxious about speaking as some sort of an authority on blogging; after all, I'm still a beginner myself! However, I got some great advice from Sara** and as soon as I started talking, I started having FUN. One of the things I love most in the world is reading and discussing fabulous YA books, and blogging has become a favorite way to do that. I have a feeling that my enthusiasm for the subject came through pretty clearly! I even had the opportunity to answer a variety of follow-up questions when the session was over. All things considered, it was a fantastic afternoon of YAngelism.***

* Thank you to Kelly Bull for inviting me to be a part of the event!
** Thank you to Sara for the peer-blogger encouragement!
*** Thank you to FYA for adding vocabulary words like YAngelism to my vernacular!