This I Believe Ideas, Passion Blog Part II, and Civic Issues Blog Ideas

When I was listening to the “This I Believe” examples, I was intensely drawn to one about there being no such thing as too much barbecue. I think the reasoning for this is that it was not particularly profound, but it was a unique way for the author to reveal himself and who he is. I resonate with this because I don’t believe I have the wisdom nor the authority to deliver some grandiose life lesson that I think could change other people’s lives. Instead I will choose the “barbecue” route and share something that matters to me, and let draw their own conclusions from it. My first idea is related to detailing your own car. I was lucky enough to own a car and, although I don’t consider myself a “car guy,” I did take a fair amount of pride in it. In nearly two years before college in which I had my license, and my car, I probably did a full detail only three times. This would include a washing it, applying wax to it, buffing it, vacuuming the inside, scrubbing the floor, cleaning the seats, and anything else I could think of. I did it all by hand and, although it took about six hours each time, the few times I did it were some of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My second idea would be something like “there is no such thing as a bad concert.” I listen to a lot of music, and the music I listen to spans a wide variety of genres. I don’t think there is really such thing as “bad” music, so as long as its loud and as long as I’m there you can bet I’ll have a good time. As long as I can clear my mind of everything but the music that is being played, nothing can go wrong.

Last semester my passion blog basically attempted to introduce a new genre of music each week in the hopes of helping readers discover something new that they liked. I condensed and simplified a lot of the genres to prevent myself from becoming technical in the differences and repetitive in the music, so it’s not really feasible for my to continue the blog in this way for another ten weeks. However, I do believe that I can curb the blog slightly to keep the spirit of it alive and  present fresh information. I think I am going to shift my blog to analyzing times where music and history (mainly social events) intersect. Whereas a lot of my previous blogs introduced a genre and gave some background information, this new direction could allow me to go in depth and talk about its meaning. I would try and vary the genres of music but each post would most likely focus on one or a few songs as they relate to some event in history.

One of my ideas for the civic issues blog would be related to civic issues in the sports realm. I came about this idea because I realized that I watch a lot of documentaries, and a great deal of them happen to be sports documentaries. The issues that I would speak about would span the areas of college sports, professional sports, international sports, or any other area I see relevant. The issues would include some of the classic arguments such as “should student athletes be paid” or “is the NFL doing enough to prevent permanent brain damage in its players,” but hopefully I would also be able to shed some light on some less covered topics or perhaps even bring up an entirely new issue on my own. Another idea I thought of would be something that I briefly touched on last semester through the paradigm shift process and it is the growing mistrust of science. Today, the public’s trust in the findings of science has hit a record low and I would like to look at how this came to be, how it is impacting us today, and what it could mean for the future.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and please let me know your honest opinions. I look forward to reading them.

One thought on “This I Believe Ideas, Passion Blog Part II, and Civic Issues Blog Ideas

  1. I personally think it is awesome how you detailed your own car and put in so much effort into doing it. I like working hard on something or at least being very committed to something and getting that satisfaction or pleasure from doing so. For me, working out over the summer was an everyday chore until I reached my goal and continued for the pleasure and the feeling of exhaustion afterwards. I find very few people who truly appreciate all music and don’t have a specific genre that they shun and completely ignore. I, like you, do not mind whatever is being played, but some music I simply just do not enjoy, like most country music. My passion blog this semester will be centered around sports as well. But more soccer and fencing and not as many current issues like the ones you have listed above. I am on the varsity fencing team here at school so if you ever need perspective from a Student-Athlete, I am happy to help you.

    I look forward to reading your blog posts and having discussions over sports, civic issues, and maybe even cars.

    Nice work!

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