In the absence of social media, my brain wants to fill the void.

One app I downloaded is Obsidian. It's a note taking tool that helps you see relationships between ideas in separate notes. It's a more organic and nonlinear way of finding trends and patterns in what you study.

I've been interested in capturing my experiences as a principal, a stroke survivor, and what it all meant in the context of a pandemic. I have little idea what I might find if I investigate this line of inquiry. Obsidian might be a helpful tool in this project.

By either chance or fate, the Native American burial site we stopped at on our trip to Virginia noted that obsidian was a revered stone. They used it for tools, weapons, and jewelry. It's also believed by some to have healing properties.

What I noticed is the patterns of the stone itself: like pieces of a puzzle fitting together to form something stronger than if in isolation. Sort of like my notes and memories captured and organized: linked together, they may forge more profound and deeper understandings.

Social media does the opposite: they divide ideas into slivers of information. They strip away context and leave open only space for emotion and confusion. The dissemblance of meaning, of "why did I join this space in the first place?", is the result.