Networking and Blogging

Over the past week or so, I have been increasinly thinking about the significance of our internships and blogging assigments; specifically, about the importance of each and how they will eventually end up making our lives different or better in some way. I have decided that once the semester winds down, I would like to start my very own, independent blog about something that I am interested in getting into as a career path: politics. I do a lot of research and reading up on current events, factually and editorally and I don't think it's a huge secret that my poltical views fall into the conservative category. Something I have found in my research is that there aren'y many young conservatives willing to admit and stand up for their beliefs much less write publically about them. So I think it would be interesting to start a blog about what's going on with our government and in the political world from the perspective of a young conservative who would love to, one day, get really involved and maybe even make a difference. I mean, I've been involved with politics in the past in terms of campaining and lobbying for others who I feel I can stand behind, but ultimately I would really love to campaign for myself and I think a good way to get my foot in the door and my name out there, besides going to law school and racking up the credentials to make myself credible, would be to maintain a blog that others can read, hopefully find interesting, and maybe even identify with on some level.

The main thing I think people get wrong about conservatives is that they believe that they want more government involvement, and that just isn't true. I think the government, especially fiscally, needs to leave us alone and let us fend for ourselves, and I don't like being told that I need to contribute my hard earned money to a cause or program I just don't believe in. The government's job is to ensure that we have the right to pursuit happiness, not guarantee our happiness and economic success. So I think it would be worthwhile to kind of set the record straight in terms that people our age can understand and identify with.

That may not interest or mean anything to you guys, but I mention it because I really like how this class has introduced me to a medium through which I can not only express my ideas and opinions, but maybe even have someone, somewhere notice them and agree with them or make a solid argument against them. I think I am fairly well informed and try to do my own research and not follow what someone else says, but I am open to suggestions and always maintain that I don't know it all, so maybe someone might bring something I haven't thought of to my attention or explain things from their perspective in a way I've never looked at them.

I definitely plan to take the knowledge Dr. Hallock and Charlotte have shared with us and put it to use. I never would have thought to create my own blog, and even if I had, I definitely didn't know all the ways to advertise and make it better and more interesting that Charlotte brought to our attention.

In addition, Dr. Hallock was definitely right about the perks to being at the studio in terms of making connections and networking. I've already met a couple of people involved with Stetson's law school either around the studio or through others who are often around the studio, and Bob Devin Jones does a lot for the community so even to have him maybe one day write me a recommedation letter would really help me out. I never thought that a class for English Lit majors would help me with my hopeful future political career, but I'm thankful that it has and more than likely will continue to.