Another milemarker in the road (or 2 years of ProgressiveU)

I have a tendency to be one of those people who says what she means and means what she says. There's nothing wrong with that, but I've realized lately that things I said when I first joined ProgressiveU two years ago or even things I said last year aren't necessarily the same way I view things now. The belief tends to be the same, but apparently age and recent developments in my life have begun to mellow me to some extent.

Don't get me wrong, I still adore a good rant when one is needed, but these days, I'm more inclined to stew about things for a bit before I rant. Maybe that's just the exhaustion talking, but I've actually found the experience rather enlightening.

I haven't read many of my posts in ages... I'd actually forgotten that many of them even existed. With this new outlook on things (if that is, indeed, what one may call such a state) I've decided to go back and look at old posts to see how much is still the same and how much has really changed.

I can definitely say that it's become readily apparent that I've mellowed quite a lot in my writing over the last two years. And with that mellowing, I actually see a little glimmer of growth in all those words.

That's the great thing about ProgressiveU; it forces you to examine things and see from the eyes of others when before you never would have done so. I've seen some of that in myself as I've read through those old posts and I'm quite proud of it. What good are we doing progress if we aren't able to challenge our own beliefs and adapt them to new information as necessary?

As a faculty member, I sometimes get to deal with requests from former members who have moved on from ProgressiveU and now wish to have their content deleted. We like to have reasons for account deletions both for security purposes and so we know if there is an issue we should be addressing so we always ask why someone wants their content deleted prior to granting the request. Quite often the response is that they no longer blog and want things deleted because they don't want potential employers to find it.

I've always found that reason interesting; mainly because I hate that people are willing to say something here but aren't willing to back that selfsame thing up elsewhere should the need arise. Why even write a blog if you're only going to delete it out of fear that someone you know is going to come across it later?

Having read some of my own writing again, I begin to see, to an extent why people do it. That's not to say that I agree with it. I still don't, but I can understand. As we grow, we begin to see how idiotic we have, at times, been. That isn't always easy to deal with, most especially if it may come back to bite us on the ass.

Growth in thought and in writing, however, is nothing to be ashamed of or to hide away. It should, instead, be celebrated as an example of just how progressive we can be. Even those little blurbs that make us cringe upon rereading have their merit; if only to show us how foolish we, at times, become. What I said a year ago may not be how I feel today, but I appreciate that I said it here nonetheless. It gives me some sort of mile marker along the way... some tangible evidence that I have been challenged and that I have, as a result, grown.

And I have certainly been challenged.

I still have a long way to go and many more challenges to come, I do not doubt that, but I am proud of where I have gone, thanks in big part to my experiences here at ProgressiveU. You guys challenge me daily and because of those challenges, I've been able to look back, laugh, smile and cringe.

I have no idea what the next two years will bring, but I'm looking forward to the experience and I hope that you are as well. Even if you no longer believe to be true what you said a year ago, don't hide away the evidence. Leave it up as a reminder of just how far you've come.

And if it wants to bite, I say let it... who knows what that experience will bring you or how much you will come to value it?

Cheers,
Fallon

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