Our Dog Rascal

                           Just something cute to look at that isn't too personally revealing :)

Getting Started

I have interviewed the president of a major university, talked with politicians and librarians, and even a Pulitzer Prize-winner. (I admit, he didn't have a Pulitzer at the time.) But for some reason the idea of writing, communicating, to even more strangers is intimidating. My future professional career is on the line here! Not to mention my mother could read this! And as Ferb says, "The internet is forever."

But I learned a long time ago that any writer can't start off writing with all those concerns buzzing around inside. It's like correcting the grammar in an essay that is still being written. I took a class from one professor who went so far as to turn her computer monitor off as she wrote, so as not to distract herself from the true line of reasoning she was trying to follow. 

I learned quite a bit about rhetoric that semester from that challenging professor--apparently I write like a man. Masculine writing is like a ladder, one step after the next, in a neat series of logical statements. Feminine writing is much more roundabout, like a spiderweb or spiral, constantly winding in on itself toward a main point, doubling back and making new connections after each round, just as logical, but following a different structure. 

This is probably due to the naturally occurring differences in the way men and women communicate in general; men operate on a very hierarchical level, with a boss at the top and designated bosses beneath him. They have to know who's in charge. Women operate on a network level, and don't typically care as much about who's in charge. For women it's more about connecting to each other and meeting emotional needs of the group as a whole. (Women in the workplace succeed because they adopt and adjust to the masculine hierarchy.)

That semester was also the first time I used my influence to help change a classmate into a better group member. I was made "editor in chief" of a class project and specifically chose this girl for my group because of our friendship in other classes. None of the other editors would have chosen her; she had a reputation for unreliability. 

From the start she was late to every group meeting, unprepared more often than not, demoralizing the entire group. She felt bad for being late, and had decent excuses, but the other group members started to resent her. We still had deadlines to meet, with or without her help. Since I was the leader, the other group members felt it was my job to do something about it. It was.

I'm generally a non-confrontational person; this was very hard for me to do. I told her there will always be something, be it weather, illness, or roommates, but she needed to figure out how to still contribute to the group, despite these personal problems.  I suggested she start planning better, make this group project a true priority, to make us--her classmates and friends--a priority. It did the trick, and even my professor approved.

So why am I telling you about a random group project from half a decade ago? Honestly, I think this is how my blog is going to work. I love writing, and since I don't have a teacher handing me an assignment or an editor sending me off to cover a new story, this is how it's going to work. Anything that catches my attention will go here in this blog, and it will all be related to me and my views on life. Enjoy!