Going Out With A Smile

The logo of The Blogging Project 2.0

   New beginnings--are there anything as wonderful? A chance to apply lessons learned, to reach out in new directions. But prior to a beginning, there must be an end. And sometimes, ends can be painful. Whether it be moving on from tragedy, saying farewell to companions you've come to know and love, or just facing the reality of an ever-shifting life, they can be tough. So tough that you might get preoccupied with it, watching it looming on the horizon, ever closer. You might sigh and resolve yourself with whatever circumstance you're in, leaving it behind abruptly in your wait to begin anew. On that note, let us offer you a simple, glorious truth that we can personally attest to--even with the end in sight, it's never too late to do something special.  

  One day, our science teacher introduced us to our final science project--The Blogging Project. We were instructed to make our own blogs, putting to use our fluencies gathered from being children of the 21st century, as well as our creative skills and capacity for teamwork. Consciously or not, some of us were surprised at commencing such a great undertaking with graduation so close. But we were excited nonetheless--we were going to go out with a bang.

Our Inner Children

   

   In preparation, we spent a good deal of time wondering exactly what is it that we wanted to do with our blog. There was more to it than just slapping it together to get a grade; we wanted a deeper purpose. And then it hit us--what, in essence, Science really is all about. It's about nurturing our inner children, feeding that insatiable curiosity about all of the Lord's wonderful creation. That revelation is what made us stay up late at night, touching up our blog and typing away as the deadlines approached uncomfortably, yet loving every second of it all the same. We knew and understood that giddy child in all of us, and we fed it with passion--a passion that made our blogging exciting, and relatively problem-free, for true inspiration removes barriers almost magically.

  If given the chance to do this project all over again, we would absolutely love to. It was just truly a joy to take part in, and we regret none of it, blemishes and all. What are mistakes for, if not for learning from them? We learned some great lessons that we'd love to apply in order to make the very best blog we're capable of making.  

   As passionate as we are about this project, there's one thing we take issue with-- the people's choice system. You see, in order to acquire votes for people's choice, you have to have them either vote for you in the poll or "like" your group picture on Facebook. This is a flawed system, for two main reasons. Groups do not win because people actually think they should; rather, they win because they have many friends and family who are willing to vote for them, most of which will most likely not spare so much as a glance at their or any other group's work. And that's the second reason why it's flawed. We as well as all the other groups put a lot of effort into our posts, and it's disheartening to know that the majority of the voters aren't going to actually read our work. We suggest that instead people should be asked to comment on the posts, and rate them by a simple numerical scale. It's too much to ask that they do the same for all the other groups, but at least the group in question's posts won't go unappreciated.

Reflecting after an adventure

   And now, what adventure doesn't have a lesson? Over the course of this project, we learned three lessons of particular note. First, that the little things need just as much attention as the big things. We went all-out in our posts, going to pains recording our last months of Science class in a way that is both enlightening and entertaining. Our efforts did not go ignored, yet some small things held us back-- neglecting to include the references of some of the information we gathered, not properly indenting the paragraphs at first... Because of those little things, posts that may have gone awarded did not, and hair that might not have been pulled out in frustration unfortunately were.  

   Secondly, that as we mentioned at the start of this entry, even when the end's in sight it's not too late to do something special. Many of us were unfortunately caught up in an attitude that said "Hey, why care about the present when the future is oh so close?". This realization helped pull us out of that self-harming mentality, and we're grateful.  

   And finally, the revelation that has changed the way we will view Science forever. It's reflected in this blog's title, and echoed many times--and here we echo it again. Quoting from our introductory post: "There is still a child in all of us, the same child who once asked "Why is the sky blue?", and although that child’s questions may change and grow bigger, more complex, the simple awe and curiosity remains." And indeed it does. Our God is an awesome God, and his mighty creation reflects that. It is natural for us to have a hunger for more knowledge about it, and Science is a major key in feeding that hunger. Interesting how the most important lesson we learned was one realized before the project really kicked into gear, yet we cannot overstate how important it is to us...and we hope, for you as well.

Curiosity never dies.

   This has been a truly wonderful adventure, and we thank you for joining us. Valete! Yassas! Those are Latin and Greek for farewell, respectively-- and farewell indeed. Saying goodbye for now,

  

                                                                                                                The Curiosity Kids