Ring Out, Wild Bells, to the Wild Sky

As I promised, this year brings a new addition to my life: blogging. I am not one to publish my thoughts very often, being the self-conscious perfectionist that I am when it comes to my thoughts and my writing. But 2011 seems like a good year to face my fears and to use blogging to polish up these parts of my life.

2010 was a good year full of important decisions and accomplishments. I was able to graduate an entire year early from the School of Policy Planning and Development at the University of Southern California with a degree in Public Policy, Management and Planning, emphasis in Urban Planning and Development (mainly so I can go into Community Development). I am well pleased with my work in undergrad, and I am glad that I chose to attend graduate school at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in order to study Sociology at the master's level. The reason I bring this up is because my graduate program emphasizes reading and writing to a nearly unfathomable degree, which isn't such a bad thing when one is attempting to better oneself, especially in an academic light. Throughout my entire first semester in graduate school, I cannot tell you how much I have heard from my professors, advisors, and colleagues about writing as much as possible. Reading as much as possible is important, too, but finding time to write everyday seems to be the more important factor in developing strong skills as an academic. They have given me dozens of articles on the subject, and I feel like it's about time I start to take their advice. Writing even just 30 minutes a day should help me to become a better person.

I don't intend for this blog to be about my personal life so much as my thoughts on the world in general. I hope I won't bore anyone with my ideas, and I encourage you to leave feedback and start discussions of the things I will bring up.

2011 will be a great year, and in an effort to constantly improve myself I hope this blog will help. Happy New Year!

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light;

The year is dying in the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more,

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,

And ancient forms of party strife;

Ring in the nobler modes of life,

With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the times;

Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes,

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out the thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in the Christ that is to be.

                 ~ Alfred Tennyson