Ethan Ridenbaugh
English 109.02
Professor Boczkowski
16 March, 2009
Let’s Share
Over that last couple of months it was an assignment of my 109.02 English class to keep a well updated blog through out the quarter. When starting the assignment, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical. I was really unsure of what the idea was behind writing a blog and sharing our thoughts with both our classmates and the rest of the world. Not only were we sharing about ourselves, but only one specific topic, which only makes things more difficult. In the end, I’d like to say I have a grasp of why my professor chose this exercise. And why I now enjoy this brand new experience called blogging.
Like I said, I was kind of skeptical about this assignment; my friends were also skeptical when I explained the assignment to them. I knew that I had to go into this with an open mind and trust my professor with what he was trying to show us. Seeing as how last quarter we learned from creating our own secret identity on Myspace.com, I had to trust that in the end there would be reasoning for what we are doing. The topic I chose for the blog assignment was Post Secret.
Post Secret has been a “habit” of mine for about five years now. It was created as a community art project where people all around the world send in their dearest secrets on home made post cards. What I soon discovered coming into the assignment was that this is going to be a hard topic to keep both interest and momentum. Therefore, I turned it more into a weekly update of my thoughts and ideas of weekly post posted on the Post Secret website. I began to think, “great, how am I suppose to learn anything when my topic is so bold and narrow?!” What I come to realize, it is from this aspect that I learn my first lesson of the blogosphere.
One week, I was faced with the question of posting a questionable post secret then stating my thoughts, opinions, and experience on the secret. The secret read “I don’t want to admit I’m gay, because I still dream of becoming president.” (Posting Back: I Don’t Even Know What Week) This secret really hit home for me, seeing as how I am gay. Being gay, I face the constant worry of what people think about me and how their thoughts of me would change if they know that I’m gay. So after much deliberation, I decided to share this part of me not only with my class, but the world. And its from this, I can show how it is easier for people to be more true to themselves and share their thoughts because things are more comfortable when written. Have you ever wanted to tell someone something, but feel it would be easier if you wrote it out instead of saying it? I know it is for me. In fact, that’s how I came out to my mother. After sobbing for an hour, too afraid to say it, I was asked to write it down on a slip of paper; and it was easier. From this, Post Secret and blogging hit common ground. It is shown that it is easier to open up and share things when they are written.
This is why I believe people both read and write blogs. To share what they can’t share with anyone else on a comfortable level. Everyone wants to share their ideas; it’s what gives us a sense of purpose. It also, like Post Secret, gives a sense of not being alone; seeing as how we can find others writing about the same things we ourselves are.
I believe that I have learned a great deal from this blogging experiment. It was also really interesting getting to know my fellow classmates. Since we were commenting and sharing with each other on our blogs, we were able to see each others insight on all kinds of topics and really get to know each other. Everyone is capable to share their thoughts and are more comfortable doing so. Blogging truly is a great experience.
Work Citied:
Posing Back: I Don’t Even Know What Week. 13 February 2009. Ethan Ridenbaugh
<http://ridenbaugh21.blogspot.com>
English 109.02
Professor Boczkowski
16 March, 2009
Let’s Share
Over that last couple of months it was an assignment of my 109.02 English class to keep a well updated blog through out the quarter. When starting the assignment, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical. I was really unsure of what the idea was behind writing a blog and sharing our thoughts with both our classmates and the rest of the world. Not only were we sharing about ourselves, but only one specific topic, which only makes things more difficult. In the end, I’d like to say I have a grasp of why my professor chose this exercise. And why I now enjoy this brand new experience called blogging.
Like I said, I was kind of skeptical about this assignment; my friends were also skeptical when I explained the assignment to them. I knew that I had to go into this with an open mind and trust my professor with what he was trying to show us. Seeing as how last quarter we learned from creating our own secret identity on Myspace.com, I had to trust that in the end there would be reasoning for what we are doing. The topic I chose for the blog assignment was Post Secret.
Post Secret has been a “habit” of mine for about five years now. It was created as a community art project where people all around the world send in their dearest secrets on home made post cards. What I soon discovered coming into the assignment was that this is going to be a hard topic to keep both interest and momentum. Therefore, I turned it more into a weekly update of my thoughts and ideas of weekly post posted on the Post Secret website. I began to think, “great, how am I suppose to learn anything when my topic is so bold and narrow?!” What I come to realize, it is from this aspect that I learn my first lesson of the blogosphere.
One week, I was faced with the question of posting a questionable post secret then stating my thoughts, opinions, and experience on the secret. The secret read “I don’t want to admit I’m gay, because I still dream of becoming president.” (Posting Back: I Don’t Even Know What Week) This secret really hit home for me, seeing as how I am gay. Being gay, I face the constant worry of what people think about me and how their thoughts of me would change if they know that I’m gay. So after much deliberation, I decided to share this part of me not only with my class, but the world. And its from this, I can show how it is easier for people to be more true to themselves and share their thoughts because things are more comfortable when written. Have you ever wanted to tell someone something, but feel it would be easier if you wrote it out instead of saying it? I know it is for me. In fact, that’s how I came out to my mother. After sobbing for an hour, too afraid to say it, I was asked to write it down on a slip of paper; and it was easier. From this, Post Secret and blogging hit common ground. It is shown that it is easier to open up and share things when they are written.
This is why I believe people both read and write blogs. To share what they can’t share with anyone else on a comfortable level. Everyone wants to share their ideas; it’s what gives us a sense of purpose. It also, like Post Secret, gives a sense of not being alone; seeing as how we can find others writing about the same things we ourselves are.
I believe that I have learned a great deal from this blogging experiment. It was also really interesting getting to know my fellow classmates. Since we were commenting and sharing with each other on our blogs, we were able to see each others insight on all kinds of topics and really get to know each other. Everyone is capable to share their thoughts and are more comfortable doing so. Blogging truly is a great experience.
Work Citied:
Posing Back: I Don’t Even Know What Week. 13 February 2009. Ethan Ridenbaugh
<http://ridenbaugh21.blogspot.com>
Ethan--
ReplyDeleteWhat a tremendous post.
You have taken what was a class assignment (Final Blog Post) and turned it into so much more, as you personalize the experience, show your understanding, and give the readers a lot to chew on.
Please, please consider adding links and pictures to this essay to get it to resemble a blog post.
Thanks for a great class.