Yes, it can be full of dangers and some downright terrible things. I believe it is a wonderful thing solely for the purpose of opening our worlds up to new ideas and experiences.
I’ve mentioned the Art Challenge I’m doing this month. The entity that initiated these challenges is called I create daily. Yesterday, while reading the challenge, I listened to the podcast that accompanied yesterdays challenge. A Finnish woman named Paivi Eerola was interviewed. To my great surprise, she had been in IT for many years and finally left that world to become an artist.
I was reminded of my IT career. It more than paid the bills once I became skilled at it. And I wanted to personally combat the idea that an IT person had no personality, they couldn’t communicate, they couldn’t create anything other than code, data entry screens, and produce cumbersome reports that no one ever looked at. They said I was crazy. They said I didn’t have the right personality for the job. When I asked a technical question my boss couldn’t answer, he had a “don’t worry your pretty little head” attitude about it. It made me angry.
The podcast actually addressed the idea that yes, a person can use both sides of their brain. I secretly always thought I did, but didn’t want to say that out loud for fear of appearing arrogant, full of myself, or a braggart. I can and do use both sides of my brain. And I mean it with humility and gratitude. I’m delighted to have found people who can teach me more. And who would have ever thought she would live in Finland. How amazing! I’m sighed up for a couple of her free art lessons.
What have you discovered that is useful, educational, and made you glad you joined the Internet age??
