Oh… blogs.
To paraphrase Shakespeare: what’s in a name? That which we call a blog by any other name would still be just a string of meticulously crafted words about…something or another.
They typically have a theme or point of focus. Travel blogs, mommy blogs, book reviews, etc. They’re an outlet for an individual to pursue their passion and share their thoughts, their ideas and experiences, what they’ve learned through the process of writing about it.
But what happens when you don’t have “just one thing”? What happens when you’re passionate about so many things and you can’t brand yourself as a single type of someone?
People typically label you as “lost,” “confused,” or “naive.” It’s as though as you grow, you should hone in on a singular purpose, mission, or path rather than broaden your horizons to find enjoyment in multiple disciplines.
Label me what you want, but the only thing I can truly brand myself as is a lifetime learner. Maybe that’s my “one thing.”
Yes, I sensed that eyeroll from here. I know it’s a tacky resume phrase, but if you find a better term for what I’m about to describe, leave it in the comments, and I’ll consider it.
Growing up, I bought and read textbooks, for fun. I was that kid that bought a textbook on Egyptian history in eighth grade because I went through an “obsessed with Cleopatra” phase. I was that kid in high school that after taking all the AP science classes, I did a practicum in psychology at a college downtown, not because I thought it would look impressive on college applications but because I was annoyed that my high school didn’t offer psychology classes. I was that kid in college that took between 22-25 credit hours per semester because the classes just sounded that interesting. I’m the kid that got married, got pregnant, and then took enough lifespan development classes to get a minor in it… while in graduate school for something totally unrelated. And now, I’m still the kid that just has to read a nonfiction book between every few fiction books, not because I feel like I should but because I find a new topic that interests me that I want to learn more about.
Seriously, if being a general scholar was still a valid career path (I mean in the old days where you literally just studied stuff, a bunch of different stuff just because you could, not like doing research in a specific field), that’s what I would be.
I like asking big questions and searching for answers to them. I like stumbling upon quirky articles and digging deeper. I like exploring new topics. Well, you get the gist.
So that’s what this blog is going to be. It’s going to be an opportunity to learn, to keep learning, and to find a community that wants to learn along with me (or teach me, for that matter!). Whether it’s books, science, politics, philosophy, art, it’s going to be the start of a conversation. This isn’t research (although it might be based on it), it’s a moment of reflection and discussion on those big ideas.
Come stumble through with me.