All I Wanna Do Is Zoom A Zoom Zoom

I have traveled outside of my comfort zone recently.

It was a trip I was reluctant to take. Surprisingly, although the view was different, it was good.

You see, I am not an adventurous person by nature. I eat the same foods and don't really stray from my usual menu. I watch the same shows - sometimes watching them over and over. I like  things that make me feel comfortable - things I can rely on to deliver positive results every time.

I like predictability.

Right now, everything is unpredictable. A bad place for a person like me to be. But there is something deep down inside of me that counters my fear of the unknown. I call it the Bishop Determination. It's part of my DNA that motivates me to do what I have to do to get the job done and right now, getting the job done involves...embracing technology.

Oooooh that wild, wonderful world. Some people have been Skyping, Zooming and Facetiming for years. Me?

"Yeah, I'll get to that one day," I said.  Four years ago, a dear high school friend moved to North Carolina. We were going to have wine hour on Skype. Guess how many times that happened?

None.

But now, if you want to be a player in the game...learning technology is a must. Teachers who have taught for decades in a brick and mortal school are now setting up virtual classrooms. Companies are holding weekly employee meetings using laptop cameras and an online video conferencing platform. Families are encouraging older members to Facetime in order to provide human interaction.

For people like me, this coronavirus was the catalyst to get moving. I had to. Three weeks ago, I learned I would be teaching a Sunday school lesson using the online video conferencing platform Zoom. (There are many others you can choose to use.)  I had no choice but to put my oars in and start paddling. I downloaded the app, scheduled a "meeting" and invited the students.

I taught the lesson this past Sunday. I was nervous. I was anxious and every other 'ous' you can think of. I probably put about four hours into preparing and practicing for the 30 minute class and it was definitely worth it. The kids seemed to have fun. The time flew and even though there was a slight hiccup with connecting with one of the students, I feel confident about doing another class next week and not making the same mistake.

Once I got a taste of the ease of using Zoom, I've been scheduling meetings left and right. I even schedule meetings with my 9-year-old. He gets a kick out of seeing himself on the laptop and "conferencing" like he's a grown up.  I had a few Zooms with friends earlier this week including one with my high school friend in North Carolina. I apologized to her about taking so long to embrace the face to face technology. We now plan on Zooming once a week.

So give yourself a pat on the back if you are one of those people going out of your comfort zone these days. Keep moving forward - as Walt Disney said, "opening up new doors and doing new things… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."