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Rant of The Week – Reflection of Changes – 07/09/08
LockedNo stomping of the feet, or whining, or ranting from me this week (so you all can put away your violins, ear plugs and cheese).
Unlike the title reflects – this is actually a “Reflection” on changes versus a rant about changes. I had planned to post this last week enlight of the recent Web design change, which had me reflecting back on different changes I have seen throughout my life along with changes happening now. I’m sure a lot of you regardless of age have seen/experienced your own changes in life – good and bad.
As I reflect back on changes, I am reminded that whether for the better or worse “change” is all a part of life. We can try all we want to keep things the same, but eventually we tend to discover changes will happen whether we want them to or not. For some, change brings confusion and uncertainty. Which is why so many of us don’t like things to change as we prefer the “known”. The “known” is more comfortable than the unknown as we know what to expect and what not to expect.
I thought I’d share some of my own reflections on changes. I’ve kept things brief on purpose, as I know we’ll each delve deeper as our conversations normally do.
[b]New Moderator [/b]
When I came onboard as moderator – there was excitement, yet uncertainty. At least on my part. Even though I have been doing this type of stuff for years, this was still a new forum with its own set of members who had gotten use to a certain way of how things were done. I was excited to be here, but uncertain how the members would respond to me. As time progresses I have started to know some of the members and in the process have gained a whole new insight. I have no doubt my coming onboard had/has caused a few folks some confusion and uncertainty of their own. Will this be different? Can we still do this or that? Will/won’t this be allowed? How will this affect us? While some kinks are still being worked out, I do believe we are heading in the right direction.
[b]New Web Design[/b]
The new Web design for TechRepublic came as a shock for many of us. It was unexpected, and with that comes the uncertainty. How will the new design compare to the old? Will our favorite features still be available or will they disappear? Some will like the new design, others will not, but eventually in time it will be accepted, at least until the next change. Then we can start the cycle all over again. I personally like the new front door of TechRepublic. While a couple items were shifted around, with some items being removed, I have now come to accept what is and look to improve on what we have. I also liked the old design – it was what I was use to, I had come to know all its little quirks. The new design comes with its own set of quirks that I now must get to know.
[b]U.S. politics [/b]
Here in the U.S. we are gearing up for the election of the next President of the United States. This is a huge time of change for the U.S not so much because we are voting for our next President – but because this is the first time in the United States history that we have/had three running mates who all are firsts – a female who is/was a strong contender (she has since conceded to Obama), an African-American and the oldest man to ever run for President.
No matter who actually wins the election, it will bring about a lot of uncertainty.
I’m not going to speculate on the type of President each will or won’t be. But I will say that I hope that which ever is elected will bring about the type of changes that improve this country for its people.
[b]The Next Generation, Morals and Respect [/b]
Each day as I read the newspaper or watch the news on TV, the headlines scream – teen-ager raped a 4 yr old girl, a teen-ager killed his parents for not giving him an allowance, a teen-ager assaulted a 67 yr old lady, a teen-ager broke into subway and made away with $50.00. I can’t help but wonder where is this world headed if the next generation of leaders seem to have forgotten/not taught the basic morals of life. As if there is no respect for anything or anyone. It actually scares me to think about what life will be like 20 years from now if things continue as they are. It actually makes me wish things were like they were when I was child (and yes, I know these things happened back then as well, but it seemed like it wasn’t a daily headline as it is now, but that still doesn’t stop the wishing).
The above is just a small reflection of changes. There is many more that I could reflect on in my own life, but I thought this would be a good starting point.
What changes have you seen that left you feeling uncertain? What changes leave you wishing things would go back to how they use to be? What changes leave you feeling saddened or angry? What changes has caused you to sit back on your heels and go – something needs to change?
-Tammy 🙂