Alas, A Name

     I can’t remember what I was doing – maybe hanging up laundry or cleaning the backyard – when it hit me. The new name for my blog! No longer would I be undecided, but rather a work in progress. It seemed like a great fit, and it definitely has a lot to do with my move to Louisiana. As I hope to be here for the next 2 years, I’m pretty positive that this experience will lay the foundation for my career and serve to propel growth for the rest of my life.

     I’ve always had it in my mind that we are all just works in progress. Since people are dynamic, I figured it was an appropriate way to view them. However, it  hit me one day that this view isn’t necessarily true. While people might be forever changing, many people stop progressing. A work in progress sounds like …well, a work in progress. Something that isn’t finished, but is on its way towards completion or fulfillment. Like a project running over budget, however, a work in progress can stall. Or even be ruined by poor design (wiki the Tacoma Washington Bridge, my fav. and definitely my most-referenced example of poor design). Along those lines, I realized that not all people are works in progress.

     Though we may change, that isn’t inherently good or bad. Change doesn’t have any moral value by itself. For instance, a change I could make tomorrow is to pick up a meth habit. Sure, I’ve changed – but I don’t consider it a step in the right direction, so I definitely wouldn’t classify it as progress. Thus, changes need to be evaluated before they can be rightly termed as progress.

     So that’s what I thought about when I first considered changing my blog name to “A Work in Progress.” I hope to make this period a valuable one as far as making progress in many areas of my life by doing a few things:

•   Becoming familiarized with the worldviews and perspectives of a group of people I never thought I’d surround myself with.
• Broadening my own horizons by doing the above ^.
•  Exploring a side of food I’ve rarely (if ever) encountered.
•  Learning an absolute ton when it comes to teaching technique (as far as figuring out all the approaches  I will need to help all students succeed).
• Resurrecting some fitness goals I’ve let go of these past few months.
• And I’m sure a ton of other things I haven’t even considered but will change in me.

     In summary, the name of this blog is drawn from my decision to commit myself to being a work in progress. I’m not finished trying to make myself better. I hope anybody reading this hasn’t quit yet either.