Hello Dear Reader,
My name is Zachary Martin. I might’ve been bitten by a radioactive student and for the last three years I have been an English teacher at Plainfield High School.
Most of y’all know the rest.
I am a huge nerd.
I haven’t saved the city (yet).
I write a bit of poetry, a bit of fiction, a bit of non fiction.
(I think i’ve drained this bit for all its worth.)
In all seriousness, I am a full time teacher and I really enjoy it. I have had over a decade of experience working with kids so teaching kind of just made sense. I have to say that I really enjoy what I do and I look forward to it (almost) every day.
In my free time, I am a half of a writer. I haven’t found my particular niche yet, so I don’t really feel like I have earned the full title of writer, I feel more like a person who writes. But I will say that I’ve written some poems I am proud of. I enjoy writing fiction (even though I leave most of my pieces to bleed out on a forgotten page). And I write academically — of course— both for class and my job. I have a bit of a situationship with writing. I would consider it a passion of mine but it’s one of those things where I’ll spend hours wanting to write, but the moment I sit down I am incapable. Like The story I will write will never be as good as the one I want to write.
Before I spiral I’m gonna shift gears.
These are the most important people in my life. I try to spend what time I can with them, despite our busy schedules. This particular photo was taken on the return train from NYC, we went to try to see the Christmas tree (We failed).
I love going to shows, any kind of show. The picture above was from Dog Days Afternoon, with Jon Bernthal (oh yeah) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. I also recently saw Hayao Miyazaki, Haylee Williams, and Delaware Water Gap (not at the same time). In November I am going to a Sammy Rae and the friends show at the Brooklyn Paramount and I am so excited! (If you haven’t heard her, do yourself a favor.)
I also do indeed be chefin’ it up. I think if teaching doesn’t work I’ll write and cook. If writing doesn’t work, I’ll just cook. I wish I had a photo to add but I cannot find any, I don’t take a lot of pictures.
Last but not least, my why.
While there is the reason all of my coworkers assume, it moves me pay scale, I did the math and the amount I pay is just about the amount I earn. So that isn’t really it.
I think it’s far more simple than that. I really enjoy writing. Every day I want to be better at the craft than I was the day before. I love the feeling of looking at something I wrote a while ago and seeing where I can improve. I like knowing techniques and skills that I can pass on to my students. I want to be the best writer I can be. And hopefully, one day, after exposing myself to as much as possible, I will find my niche.
Anyway, until next time Dear Reader!
