Inspired by Progressive U's Blogging for Progress scholarship, I thought about what kind of blog I could start to earn a potential $1000.00. Knowing that I am not likely to win, but that I am likely to generate some internet content, I sought to come up with a consistent theme for my blogs. I came up with this: The Goodness Experiment. What could be more timely, as we go into this election year?
Truthfully, I know I can be kind of an asshole (can I say that at Progressive U?). I don't tip when I buy a coffee (should I admit that?). I don't assume the best in people. I pass drivers in ditches on the road, only half because my mother always told me that women should not stop to help strangers when they are alone. This experiment really is an experiment where I make an attempt to observe my behavior, modify it and write about what happens. At the same time, it will be an experiment that is informed by everyday events in the life of an educated, politically engaged 25 year old female graduate student and full-time worker.
This experiment will not be guided by any particular religious dogma, though I do consider myself a humanist. This experiment will produce qualitive data, that is, this blog. This experiment is partially inspired by University of Michigan's Goodness Day (http://www.umich.edu/~goodness/), which I've always liked, since I first walked through the diag as an undergrad.
So please feel free to holler my way, but be nice, because, well, I think that now I have to be nice.
