You've surely felt a sense of awkwardness before when a person, presumably a stranger, starts some small talk when you know that he/she is doing so purely out of politeness. "What's up, Sam?" someone may ask. Usually, the reply is "nothing", and after that, when the conversation fades away, even more discomfort is left.
To a similar extent, it is also a bit uneasy when others, usually teachers, inquire about your mundane vacation and pretend that what you say is the most interesting thing in the world. For instance, a teacher may ask, "How were your winter breaks? What did you do, John?" John may reply without much excitement, "I went to Cancun." "That's cool, John! I went to Cancun, too, in the summer of '84." John, however, does not think that his vacation was that great. Under normal conditions, there is much hype about an upcoming vacation. However, after the vacation is over, your experiences seem rather normal. It is much more satisfying talking about an accomplishment than talking about a past vacation. Although this phenomenon is generally true, there are instances when the accomplishment derives from the vacation. This is the case for me, and is the reason I write this blog.
In the summer of 2015, I took a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Since Rocky Mountain National Park was founded in 1915, it was the 100th anniversary of the park. Therefore, the staff showed a twenty-minute-long video about the history of the park. The scenery was quite beautiful, and for the second time ever, I felt the awe-inspiring grandeur of the American wilderness. (I'll save the first time for a future blog!) During the video, the cast mentioned the notion of information, inspiration, and transformation. They explained that the video was an informative one that was intended to inspire the viewers to appreciate the nature of the park and transform into preservers of the wilderness. The idea immediately made sense to me. I thought that I could apply it in real life in some way that I hadn't though of yet. I said to myself, "I need to write this in the black folder."
The black folder is an old, weathered folder with a black cover that has accompanied me to various travel destinations. So far, it has been to Oklahoma, Caddo Lake, Beijing, Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Houston, San Francisco, San Antonio, and various places in Colorado. In it is a sheet of white paper, on which I write down the things I wish to remember from the trip and search on the internet once I arrive home. The first thing I wrote on the paper was the equation Γ(1/2)=√π. I did not know why the gamma function of one-half was equal to the square root of pi.
Anyway, I felt the urge to write the words "Inform, Inspire, Transform" on the paper. So I did. And when I arrived back home, I contemplated the meaning of these words. "Inform, Inspire, Transform", I repeated to myself silently for several days. I wondered what it meant.
When I found the answer, the three words were already my personal motto. Watching the Rocky Mountain National Park video was a defining moment in my life because I gave myself a purpose: to help others learn, be inspired, and personally change for the better. I was, in fact, quite shocked that I already had informed, inspired, and transformed others. I had recently made a 34-minute long video for Biology on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/chaojidage). (Subscriptions are always appreciated!) Over 200 people have seen it, and there are nice comments that express gratitude for this video. I had definitely succeeded in informing people, and based on what people have said, I have concluded that the video had succeeded also in inspiring people to find fun in learning. They can use the ability to find learning fun to transform themselves into interesting, dynamic, learned individuals. I posted more frequently on YouTube to meet the standards of my motto, and I was content with myself despite the chaotic world around my personal life. When others became depressed over their school grades and grade point average (GPA), I was happy. I have received not-so-great grades in school as well, but I learned from what I missed and became a more informed person. I use this information constantly to inspire and transform others.
And so I lived life. I had ups and downs like any regular person would have. Then one day, my English teacher at Clark High School, Mrs. Wilkinson, assigned our tenth grade Honors class an assignment. We were required to create a blog. While others were worried about online embarrassment and the time they'd lose from writing a blog every week, I asked the teacher how long the blogs would have to be. (I wanted longer blogs.) She told me that they were supposed to be rather short, yet interesting if they had to be longer. Mrs. Wilkinson also told everyone to stick to one topic as the focus of the blog posts. This was when I got stuck. Apparently, the blog would have to have one "umbrella term" that conveys the consistent subject of discussion. Honestly, I believed that consistency of subject was not as important as consistency of purpose. If I only focus on one subject, I only have a small audience that can benefit from reading. I wanted to benefit a larger audience. I wanted to make this blog universally appealing. However, to not irritate Mrs. Wilkinson, I used the umbrella term of purpose in place of the umbrella term of topic. The word is "Inspiration". Truly, I wish to use the information presented in this blog to inspire others (to find learning fun, for instance). This would, as I have said, lead to a personal transformation.
I have defined the purpose of this blog, but not yet the subject. There are two reasons for this, one from logic and one from experience. Logically, I would like this blog to be universal, so the subjects may vary. From experience, I have learnt that it is difficult to stick to one topic. When I started my YouTube channel, I wrote in the channel description that the channel would be about Liubishuhuland. (I'll discuss this in the future.) My first few videos were, indeed, about Liubishuhuland, but after I ran out of ideas, I started to bombard the upload page with videos of other topics. I had a desire to share everything I knew with the world. Presently, I still have this desire, and I know for what purpose I have it. (Look back at the three-word personal motto.) Therefore, I have decided that I will use this blog not just to earn a grade for English, but to inspire others in various ways.
I now officially name this blog "The Inspiration Fountain". It is very likely that I will be working on this blog throughout my high-school career and college. I will give my best effort to continue to give to others via this medium, and I believe that everyone (who understands English, at least,) will be able to learn and be inspired by The Inspiration Fountain.
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| My mother and I walk in Rocky Mountain National Park. |
And so I lived life. I had ups and downs like any regular person would have. Then one day, my English teacher at Clark High School, Mrs. Wilkinson, assigned our tenth grade Honors class an assignment. We were required to create a blog. While others were worried about online embarrassment and the time they'd lose from writing a blog every week, I asked the teacher how long the blogs would have to be. (I wanted longer blogs.) She told me that they were supposed to be rather short, yet interesting if they had to be longer. Mrs. Wilkinson also told everyone to stick to one topic as the focus of the blog posts. This was when I got stuck. Apparently, the blog would have to have one "umbrella term" that conveys the consistent subject of discussion. Honestly, I believed that consistency of subject was not as important as consistency of purpose. If I only focus on one subject, I only have a small audience that can benefit from reading. I wanted to benefit a larger audience. I wanted to make this blog universally appealing. However, to not irritate Mrs. Wilkinson, I used the umbrella term of purpose in place of the umbrella term of topic. The word is "Inspiration". Truly, I wish to use the information presented in this blog to inspire others (to find learning fun, for instance). This would, as I have said, lead to a personal transformation.
I have defined the purpose of this blog, but not yet the subject. There are two reasons for this, one from logic and one from experience. Logically, I would like this blog to be universal, so the subjects may vary. From experience, I have learnt that it is difficult to stick to one topic. When I started my YouTube channel, I wrote in the channel description that the channel would be about Liubishuhuland. (I'll discuss this in the future.) My first few videos were, indeed, about Liubishuhuland, but after I ran out of ideas, I started to bombard the upload page with videos of other topics. I had a desire to share everything I knew with the world. Presently, I still have this desire, and I know for what purpose I have it. (Look back at the three-word personal motto.) Therefore, I have decided that I will use this blog not just to earn a grade for English, but to inspire others in various ways.
I now officially name this blog "The Inspiration Fountain". It is very likely that I will be working on this blog throughout my high-school career and college. I will give my best effort to continue to give to others via this medium, and I believe that everyone (who understands English, at least,) will be able to learn and be inspired by The Inspiration Fountain.
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