Thursday, January 28, 2016

Family Rituals

The Importance of Family Rituals:

Vacation for most families is just a chance to relax and get out of the normal, boring everyday activities.  For my family, our trips to the north woods of Minnesota hold more value.  Seventy-three years ago, my family began to take the long sixteen hour trips to a lake in the middle of nowhere. They could have chosen to visit a closer lake, perhaps in Wisconsin but this lake, Mann Lake, had a special meaning. Every year my family makes the voyage to Mann Lake; we take in the beauty of the area.  My dad always likes to comment on the fact that the floors at the local grocery store in town have had the same tile on them since he was a small boy.  It is hard to find a place that unchanged nowadays.  For many, unchanged floors in a grocery store that closes every day at 6 O'clock, is not that important.  For those in my family, like my dad who has made the trip up since he was seven months old, these small details remind them of the good memories made with loved ones who are now gone and they all feel the same excitement they did when they were kids with little to no worries.

What does perseverance mean for me? When I think of perseverance, I think of the journey to a goal not easily achievable.  Those who truly preserver, believe in them and find success in any endeavor they come in contact with.

More so, perseverance is about taking risks and learning from the experiences of such risk taking. We all want something in our lives, whether it is money, love, power, etc.  Many however, will not put forth the effort to achieve their dreams. They'd rather become content with success in their heads but not in real life. I often find myself thinking about my future. I begin to ask myself, what will I do with my life, where will I live; will I find love, etc.  As previously mentioned, those who persevere are risk takers.

Perseverance is like climbing a mountain that keeps getting higher.  We all come across challenges during the day to day activities we encounter.  The "finish line" per say, is not always easy to reach and if it were, everyone would be a winner would and human success would have no further meaning.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Lessons Learned in a Day

We are all learning new concepts, figures and life lessons each and everyday.  Such lessons may be learned at school, work or at home.  In my Theology class, I learned about the importance of Christian faith and evidence supporting it. I also learned that the presence of the Spirit has been witnessed by more than many have come to realize. An example would include the body after death. Many claim that the body no longer represents the person they knew when that person was living. This is true, the soul gives each of us life and character.  In College Writing, I learned in depth about the components involving a piece of writing such as genre and purpose. Genre and purpose in a paper are largely determined by the audience.  When crafting a piece of writing, the writer must fully understand who he or she is writing to, breaking the potential number of people in an audience down to a very small group.  Without knowing the appropriate audience, the writer will not be able to successfully craft a piece of writing reflecting the views of the audience.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Responsibilities and Communication When Blogging

What are our responsibilities to others when we blog? Do we have responsibilities to others when we communicate?

Blogging furthers one's communication with the outside world.  Ideas are shared and relationships are formed.  New understandings to previous meanings are found.  A great responsibility is presented within a larger realm of communication.  Not only is one writing for himself, he is writing for many, some of which he will never see in his lifetime.  Writers who post their work on the web are actually sending it to others for feedback.  Good writing is never finished.  Blogging is a way for one idea to be met with many opinions.  All opinions are valid and worth hearing.  The right to freely communicate should never be restrained from anyone, regardless of knowledge on the subject. Criticism is a part of writing.  All great works faced criticism for others or from the authors themselves.  Blogging is no different.