Starting Over..Blogger Beginning

Hello everyone! I would like to introduce myself. My name is Shelley Wolfe, and I am happier than words can say to be starting over. Originally, this blog was made for my English 1101 class in college. I figure I will put it to good use. This is not a sad, sappy relationship blog. I am starting this blog to celebrate how truly amazing life can be, if we open our eyes a little wider. I will talk about everything from how a song may make me feel, to the latest news trends, and sometimes, I may just want to talk about how I feel in general. I would love to make this a huge blog with lots of followers because I would really like to see if anyone has the same opinion as me about any of the issues that I may talk about. I will address issues that may be hard to talk about sometimes. I would love to have feedback, good or bad, because I am still trying to find the best way to look at things in general. If you come up with something that I have not thought of then your comment will be really beneficial to me and my learning experience. Which translates me to my topic for the day: Learning. What does learning really mean? To me, it is really so much more than sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher talk about his or her opinion on a topic. Granted, they are well versed in their subjects of study, but do we really learn about what we believe or want based on what someone else is telling us? My answer is absolutely not. Learning is interaction and communication with other individuals who have their own opinion about topics that are brought up in conversation. Sure, it may be easier to talk to someone with the same views as you or, in my case, have been taught the same things growing up, but when you sit down and really discuss the pros and cons and the likes and differences in comparison to one another, that is when your knowledge expands. I am not saying you have to 100% agree with what the person in the discussion is saying, but I do feel like you gain another perspective on what you are talking about if someone brings up a valid point that you had not previously thought of yourself. I grew up in a small town. I went to church, I played sports at a local private high school, and I always thought my parents were right. Since I have grown up and been in a large scale university setting, I feel like my perceptions of reality have changed... ALOT! I am so happy that my eyes have been opened to what is really going on in the world today. Not all of it may be bad, depending on how you choose to look at things. I now have a say in issues such as politics, whether that is on campus or in the White House. I can make solid decisions and either be happy with what I chose or suffer the consequences of my actions. Bottom line, I can honestly say that I have grown in so many ways just from listening to the opinions and learning from what other people have to say. I hope you take what I have said to heart, and try listening to someone else's opinion. You might be surprised by how someone completely different from you can teach you so much about yourself.