The Blogging Class Was Legit.

I mentioned in an earlier entry that there was a college course on blogging. When I discovered the site via site meter, I was a bit unnerved, I must say. I didn't know how I felt about people critiquing my entries and studying my style of writing. But then again, blogging is a public medium in which people choose to make the public privy to their activities. This realization leads me to admit that my personality is an amalgamation of contradictions. I'm extremely guarded as to the details of my personal life, yet I do this... I blog. I make it possible for strangers to read about the compromising situations I find myself in. I share with them, my encounters with various strangers I meet. I'm modest and shy in some aspects but then I have a bit of a potty mouth. I have a deviant sense of humour and I post pictures on my blog, posed and come hitherish in some of my stances. Needless to say, the fact there are people searching to understand this sudden phenomenon known as blogging, intrigued me. Shortly after discovering the said blog course, I was presented with an e-mail inviting me to come to the blogging class. Upon reading the e-mail, I went through a wide range of reactions... leery being the primary one. I've received a couple of e-mails from some shady characters, who read my blog, so I didn't know what to make of this invitation. The invitation didn't provide me with any details, really. I decided that I wouldn't go. Any number of things could have happened. I could have gotten pistol whipped and thrown in the back of a van. I could've been set up, raped and robbed... and then beaten further for not having anything of value. I decided Thursday to reject the offer. I opened my e-mail, and there was the invitation again. This time, providing me with directions to a legitimate place. A well-known college in the area. I pondered the offer some more. My curiosity got the best of me. I went. I left a little early. Following the map I got in the e-mail. I found the building, saw it was in the English department, and retreated. I found a bench, sat shivering in the evening chill, and called my best friend. I told her the invitation seemed legit. We chatted a little while longer and then I ran into a colleague from work. Surprised, I asked her if she was taking a course there. She said yes. She asked why I was on-campus. I explained to her that I have a blog and that I got this invitation... before I could finish, she said, "You'll be in Colin Mcenroe's class!" "Oh, so he is a real person and it is an actual course then?" "Yes," she said, surprised. "You don't know who Colin Mcenroe is?" she asked. "No." I said, somewhat sheepishly. "He's a journalist, he has a radio show, and he's an author. It's a graduate course" she explained. "Oh." I said, the information still not registering. In my defense, I haven't listened to the radio since about 1999 and I don't watch tv. I read specific sections of the newspaper. (I would later discover that my mother was also aware of Colin Mcenroe. I could've called and run the invitation by her. But hindsight is 20/20). I was relieved and somewhat nervous now. I didn't know what to expect. Graduate students and a noted journalist, great. I'm toast. I will be strung up and hung out to dry, I thought. They'll rip to be bits. I smiled at my colleague, checked my watch, said my goodbyes and headed back down to the English building. 'The first door on the right, when you walk in.' The directions said. I walked in, the roomed got quiet. Everyone was seated around a conference table. There was a photographer. There was a large projection screen and a computer set up towards the back of the small room. "Um, is this Colin Mcenroe's class" I asked nervously. "YES! " they answered, recognizing me immediately. "You showed up." a gentleman added. I nodded and sat in the hot seat. Right before class began, I went to the restroom, and breathed a sigh of relief. I made it that far and the class wasn't huge. I walked back to the room. Mr. Mcenroe joked, "You came back." Indeed, I did. There my blog was, up on the large projection screen for everyone's consumption. It was a thrilling experience. I got ask some thought provoking questions. In essence, I was interviewed. Why do I blog, what I'm hoping to accomplish with this endeavor, do I right for any one group in particular, etc. Everyone seemed conscientious and complimentary of my 'writing voice.' While I was in the hot seat, the class went on to discuss other blogs. What some motives for blogging were. Phrases like blog aesthetic, techies, and linking where thrown around. It was an interesting experience. I must say, that It was gracious of the class to find me an interesting enough person, that they would invite me to such a class. One student, a nice woman who owns an antiques shop, even gave me a ride home. What more can I say. Thank you all for making me feel welcome and interesting. Moreover, thank you for your questions. Those very questions prompted me to realize what my motivation is for having a blog.