I like to read. I like to write. I like to talk to people. I also like to do any combination of those things, which is why I’m attending University of Maryland in the fall, inspired by Tiina’s kids because Virginia Virtual Academy and James Madison University conspired to make me feel like I could do it. I’m not going to be your traditional student because they are eight-week courses and life moves fast. The difference is that nothing is live and everything is asynchronous. Here’s the funniest part of the interview with the people at UMD:
“So, does University of Houston have a distance education program?”
“Yes, they do. I set it up myself in 2001.”
I am not going to UMD because it’s better. I’m going there because I get in-state tuition. I might go back to UH eventually because at the graduate level, Brené Brown is worth every penny. But I checked and she does not teach intro to Algebra (and I am sure that she would tell me to be grateful). So going to UMD for undergrad is fine. I will deal with Dr. Brown when I’m ready for her. I have miles to go before I sleep.
The last time I saw Dr. Brown, I kidded her that because I taught her Microsoft Word, then that means I have basically taught her everything she knows. She said, “you sure did,” playing right back. The other great thing is that at her talk, I set up a bit and she played ball. The question was something about Richmond having a midfield problem, and she took it as a serious as a heart attack.
She gets me. :::fist bump:::
Dr. Brown is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Peace out.
I kid, but it’s the truth. I ran into her when she was just a TA and was delighted several years later to see her on YouTube. I am younger than she is, but not by much. But the power dynamic is inverted because I was her computer lab supervisor in the Graduate School of Social Work. To me, she was just like every one of my other kids, so that’s how I approach her now. She is a bestselling author and beloved across the world, but I assure you she puts on her pants the same way everyone else does in the morning. Thinking she doesn’t is the root of all evil.
I am mapping out a career that looks very much like hers, because I have gotten the story aspect. Now I need to get into the research aspect. I have my suspicions about how the world works, but I want to know. However, my lane is shame and vulnerability in the arts. There are many stories of people disillusioned with America during the Cold War, and most of them are writers and jazz musicians like me. I am fine with staying here and fighting it out, but I understand the temptation to run and at least need a break from America. A few weeks on a beach in Mexico never hurt anybody.
I never want to work against American interests, but I do think that we need a reality check…. that we are not always the arbiter of taste and other countries’ opinions are valid. What works globally works locally. I listen to complaints about my blog because they have the right to shape it. What they do not have the right to do is shut it down.
Our mission right now seems to be to shut down all negative opinions of us, and if you look at that playbook in history IT DOES NOT WORK OUT.
So many people defected to America during the Cold War. But I want to explore the few that went the other direction. Why was our behavior so problematic that people felt that rejected? People put their anger into their music and the jazz just got better. Expat communities showed up in Europe, Africa, Cuba, you name it.
Malcolm Gladwell wanted to explore the tipping point.
I want to explore the breaking point.
Stories That Are All True 