THING #2

My experiences with blogs are limited to the discovery of Twitter and Facebook: if, those are considered blogs.  I have created dialogue and posted them on Twitter, but only in order to briefly experience what many people make part of daily life and attempt to understand what makes them so popular.  After I satisfied my initial curiosity, I never developed a professional or personal need for blogging.  As I begin to see the influence a well-prepared blog can have within a community of professionals, I hope to be able to build a good blog that reveals my passion and hopefully some good ole fashioned wisdom as it relates to developing new and striving to be “life-long learners.”

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

As for my blog name and my posting name.  I decided on what most accurately described it at the moment.  Simply the title of an assignment and my name, “23 Things” by Clint Underwood.  What are those “things?”  Who is this person.  I don’t completely know, yet.  I could describe them, but my hope is that they transform into “things” I could have never imagined.  “Things” that will change my life, and hopefully become tools, ideas, knowledge and wisdom that become a part of a life well spent learning and teaching others to apply knowledge wisely.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” 
― Benjamin Franklin

This experience of building a blog seemed simple at first, until I “posted” for the first time.  I began thinking of what others may think.  What do I have worthy of contribution?  How will I appear, or not appear?  What part of this experience do I want to hide, highlight, or build on?  So, a thought began to develop.  What is my purpose, and where does this blog play into the big picture?

My Purpose -“To better others’ lives through leading genuine educational experiences”.  Wow, I couldn’t have imagined a "blog” assignment could have brought me here (in my mind) or, that a week ago I couldn’t have conceived this blog could possibly help achieve that purpose.  I have begun to see how such a tool can assist building a professional community; one person at a time.  I think the “easy” part of creating the blog was moving the mouse around, but the challenging part will be to eventually make an impact on others with what I have learned.  I understand that throughout this assignment I’ll be the recipient of the wisdom to be gained.  I just hope, one day, I can share what I’ve received.

The Army looking Avatar…  I picked an Avatar that most closely represents my outward appearance. I also, placed my dog Scout standing beside me.  I love my pooch.   I am very sure there wasn’t any introspection that motivated the choice.  Just wanted to complete the task accurately.