Blogging...It's Been A While

Realizing that I have a blog summary due tomorrow, I figured I should discuss my lack of interest in blogging.

It's not that I dislike writing about my life experiences; it's not that I dislike discussing how I feel I can help leisurely educate others; it's not that I don't understand leisure or leisure education.

This blogging business has felt extrinsically motivating rather than intrinsically motivating. I feel as though I learn more by discussing issues and leisure with other people rather than putting it down in writing. In fact, without people there is no such thing as leisure.

Leisure is truly individual-based. Therefore in order to be leisure educated or to leisurely educate others, it is very important to deal with individuals and communicate with them ways in which they can have positive, intrinsically motivating experiences and discuss with others how you (I) can personally find ways to have positive, intrinsically motivated experiences as well. Of course self-reflecting on your leisure/leisure educational life can be productive in a sense that you can follow your thought process over time and why you may or may not be experiencing leisure, however there is the constraint of time that is placed on us students that is making it feel a lot less like leisure and a lot more like work.

This makes sense due to the fact that it is part of a University course. There needs to be some way to evaluate one's thought process when it comes to leisure and leisure education when the course is entitled "Leisure Education". It serves me better as an individual to find my leisure in my relationships that lead to positive experiences with them and to improve on these relationships to stimulate positive experiences. This is how I have learned about my leisure and how I have learned to educate others in leisure.

Just this past weekend I had a volunteer come up to me and tell me: "This is my party. Who are you to say that it is last call. This is my party and we'll do things the way I want to do them!"

It was a fundrasing dance for the Verdun Minor Football Association. I turned around and said: "This isn't your party, this is our party. Without all of these people here this would not be much of a party anyways. In fact, this dance isn't as much about us having a good time as it is raising money to provide a worthwhile program to our youth. If you haven't had a good time yet I am sorry, but I am sure you will have a good time again in your life and I am sure the funds that we raise from this dance will be useful in making sure that the young kids have a good time next year as well."

Just like that, I felt like a leisure educator. The goal of providing a worthwhile program to our youth ended up being more important than one person having a good time at one given time. This person apologized to me and said she was happy I told her that. She said she would have a good time again in her life; that she was being selfish.

Delayed gratification for one night wasn't the end of the world... I hope my gratification when it comes to blogging doesn't stay delayed for much longer.