Major Milestones and Year in Review
It’s hard for us to believe—but today marks one year since we launched Thought to Action! What began as a “good idea fairy” became a reality thanks to our incredibly talented and dedicated team of writers and support from our readers. Within the past year, many of our team members started new jobs, some earned master’s degrees (Brigid Calhoun, Jake Conrad, Brian Mathews), and others became parents for the first (Alex Boroff) and fourth (Brian Fiallo) times. We’ve watched the world around us change with the pandemic’s oscillation, the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We also remembered the 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks and welcomed new writers to our team. Through all of this change, we’ve found an outlet in writing and collaborating on this project.
Our team still claims amateur status, but we’ve realized that writing helps us make sense of the world around us, and our place in it. It brings a sense of order to our thoughts and informs our actions. Through writing, we can reflect on our mistakes and grow from them, as Brian Fiallo, Jenn Walters, and Evan Bruccoleri did. We can look back on our past and towards the future of our profession, learning how to live and lead with intention and grow in virtue. Writing is a way to share those thoughts with others and solicit feedback, reaffirming the power of written communication. The writing process teaches patience, discipline, and humility. Planning and sustaining a writing project drills communication, honesty, and flexibility into its participants. We’ve certainly learned to build more flexibility into our publication schedule so we avoid over-stressing about deadlines. A project born out of fun and friendship should remain enjoyable and collegial.
We now find ourselves in a time of new beginnings, with spring in full bloom and permanent change of station (PCS) season commencing. With the celebration of Mother’s Day next Sunday and Father’s Day in 7 weeks, we’re reminded of the importance of family—as our teammate Beau Wasson so eloquently wrote in this tribute to his late father. And speaking of family, the three ladies on our writing team are celebrating significant milestones over the next two months: motherhood (Tara Middlebrooks), engagement (Jenn Walters), and marriage (Brigid Calhoun).
Writing has been a meaningful exercise in reflection for us. Both in meeting our own expectations and learning from one another, our work has been personally and professionally fulfilling. Be it in areas of personal interest or more intrepid conversations about history, the authors on the Thought to Action team have covered the gamut!
We’d like to conclude by thanking our readers and families for their encouragement, support, and interest in Thought to Action. We’d be satisfied writing for ourselves, but it’s much more fulfilling to share the fruits of our contemplation with others. As we forge into our second year of publication, we are going to transition to an every-other-week publication cycle from this week through the first week of September. This will ensure continued quality and scheduled content while the majority of our team PCSes and undergoes big life changes this summer. We look forward to another creative year and remain grateful for your support!
Thanks from the entire Thought to Action Team!