Why Thank You!

As it turns out, I've been nominated for an award.

Well, not ME, my blog... but since I write my blog, it equates to about the same thing as me being nominated for an award.

Every year, Clear Admit (an MBA admissions website) runs a "best of blogging" competition to determine the best MBA applicant and student blogs. I have been nominated, along with a whole host of other Darden student bloggers. (I think there were about six or seven of us nominated.)

If you are a ClearAdmit fan and wish to vote: follow this link for details.

Blog News!

It's not very often that a little, personal blog like mine has news. In fact, this may very well be the only time that I have blog news. After all, I'm not supporting a book, nor will I begin selling t-shirts. There are very few, if any, awards for personal blogs.

But today I have news.

My blog has been selected as a Darden Student Blog, meaning that it will serve as a glimpse into life at Darden for prospective and incoming students.

I'm very excited about my fellow incoming bloggers, but will wait until they are officially announced to introduce them to you.

Mundane Night

Here's a tip for all my fellow blogging friends: don't assume that people don't read your blog.

Tonight I was sitting in O'Byrne's, an Irish pub on Whyte Ave. (which is kind of the hip, trendy neighbourhood that every city has, but I can't compare it to anything besides Calgary's Kensington) My friend leans over and says:

"You didn't tell me at supper yesterday that you got your loans in place! And why did you call the evening mundane?"

So I explained to her that it wasn't the evening that was mundane, more that I didn't think the people in India who read my blog would be particularly fascinated by the fact that I spent an hour in MAC yesterday doing my bridesmaid duties in memorizing the instructions for my bride-to-be friend.

A few years ago, I took a creative non-fiction writing class, and the big challenge in writing non-fiction is extrapolating from your own life experiences and writing something that is of value to someone else. I do try to keep that in mind when I am blogging, since there is no point in writing something for others to read if I am not adding any value for the time they spend reading. When I write about Darden details, it's because I know there may be people a year from now who find themselves in the same position as me and looking for some support. (I'll confess, I went back and read the archives of the Darden student bloggers when I was first accepted, hoping to scrounge up any useful information! And to get excited about what was coming...)

So when I write "this is what I did this evening..." I do apologize because I haven't figured out what value it adds. But, this evening I was reflecting on the beauty of friendship and communication. My bride friend is in town from China, on her way to her new home in Iowa. We've pretty much talked daily on MSN over the three years she's been gone, thanks to a time difference that has her on lunch break right before my bedtime. And as awesome as it is to actually be sitting and talking face-to-face, it doesn't feel weird or abnormal. I love friendships like that. You can live on almost the opposite side of the world, but pick up right where you've left off when you do see each other. That is really encouraging to me, as the reality of the rest of my life is that there will be people I love who live far away.

And if my other good friend or sister who are in Europe happen to read this, I'm looking forward to talking to you face-to-face as well in just a few short weeks!

Blog With an Identity Crisis

Though I haven't started writing, I have a feeling this might get long. You may want to grab a cup of tea before you start reading... I know I just did.

As I mentioned in my previous blog posting, this recent surge of blogging activity has been due to inspiration from the Darden Student Bloggers. After spending time over the last few days reading over their blogs, I decided that I would read another blog: my own. I went back in time to 2005 and reminisced over the trials, lessons, joys and pains of the last four years.

It was quite interesting to get reacquainted with myself. It was interesting to look back on my dreams and ambitions of years past and see how far I've come. I'm actually amazed, not only at how my goals and career ambitions have remained solid, but at how much progress has been made against those goals.

But I digress...

When I first started blogging, it was an outlet of exploring my life and my faith and their interactions. As I've developed more and more of a passion for things like business, social justice and corporate social responsibility (CSR), I've blogged about those things as well. And, more recently, I've put forth a practical, more newsy voice as I talk about the specifics of moving to the US to attend a top business school. (Yes, I have to keep writing that, since Darden isn't as well known here in Western Canada!)

So I'm at a point where I don't really know whether I should be blogging about deep thoughts on life, my faith, business, social justice and responsibility or my upcoming life at Darden. And, my strategic mind things that all of these belong on separate blogs, maintained by separate identities.

But I think the big challenge and joy in life is learning to merge all that we are. I should never be shy about my faith. Even though there are Christians out there who have made it embarassing at times to claim ties to this faith (and, to be fair, I am FAR from perfect or even loving or graceful), it is still something that is absolutely foundational to who I am. My faith and business cannot be separate.

At the same time, I can't separate out my passions for business, social justice and CSR. And while those things may not seem as though they fit together, they are the main motivation for pursuing an MBA. And the social justice is rooted in my faith...

And I don't want to separate out my journeys to Darden. There has been something encouraging and inspiring about reading about the student blogs, and I want a record of my own journeys. I love looking back on my own journey and seeing how things really did end up. It ties back to my faith and seeing God's hand in the ordinary, sometimes mundane, yet entirely beautiful journey of my life.

So, here it is, unapologetically: my blog with an identity crisis. If I were attempting to make revenue from this blog, I would separate it into three or four blogs to attract different audiences.

But I'm not. And the truth is that while others may eavesdrop, (and I do try to pan my perspectives out to be broader than my own circumstances) this blog is ultimately for me. Reading over the last four years of my life, I've gotten back in touch with a girl who loves to think, ponder and write, and I'd like to keep her around a little more.

Nine Months Later...

My sister just pointed out to me that I hadn't blogged for a while. So, here it is... I'll try to get in the habit again. I miss writing.

I'm in Business school now. It's great. The big decision of my life these days is whether or not I want to do a double major... or even if I can. It would have been much more simple if I didn't have such a great Accounting prof this semester. Never in a million years would I have dreamed of majoring in Accounting... But now I might.

Anyway, I have to leave for school in 5 minutes and am not quite ready to walk out the door. So, tootles... and check back often... it's exam time, so I'll be procrastinating.

The First-Ever Blog

I suppose my first blog post should have something super profound and intelligent, but let's be serious... it's the first one.

Why am I blogging? Well... I was inspired by the drummer of the band downhere who challenged us all to do our own blogs. Something about Christians should be blogging... and let's be serious - anytime someone says "A good Christian should..." I do it... Yeah, right. In fact, it's usually the opposite and I rebel against the idea. But, for some reason, not this time.

I like to write. And perhaps one day I will publish a book... and perhaps this is where I will gain my following. Or not. But seriously, as a writer, I'm supposed to be journalling... and although we are instructed to keep private journals that no one can look at, the real point in writing is so we can change the world.

So if I shoot my thoughts off into cyberspace, maybe the world will change.

But maybe not. I guess it's all in God's hands.

Because who reads these things anyway?

That is it for my first-ever blog post.

Pretty snazzy.