Back in the Saddle

At this time of year, it seems important to wish my readers a Merry Chr-- What’s that? Oh.

Well, in that case, please allow me to wish you a Happy New-- Come again? Missed that one too, eh?

Good luck in your studies this sem-- Aw, come ON!

… And we’re off. After leaving my blogging and blog reading to fallow for a month, I can honestly say that it is pretty crumby to have to read 170 posts. I’m also sorry to have missed the opportunity to respond to some of my classmates really funny, thoughtful, and well-written posts. On the other hand, I’ve already been surprised to discover that quite a few posts resonate with themes that we are discussing this semester. Maybe I haven’t missed my opportunity after all.

It was really important for me to get back on top of what my classmates and profs had written before making new contributions. Although I’ve been lucky to have fairly consistent traffic coming through this blog (Thank You to John, Bill, and the AHA), I feel that my thoughts are probably of the most importance to my classmates and professors right now, and I wanted to be caught up on the conversations.

Being an absent blogger has definitely affected my studies to a certain degree this semester. I definitely noticed by the end of last semester that I was better able to recall themes and ideas from class discussions if I had written a post about those themes. Furthermore, blogging was a perfect arena for me to practice being funny (Still trying) and find a comfortable writing style. Conclusion: Blogging can serve as another teaching tool, especially if you’re a person who learns through doing and through repetition, like me! So the next time you need to study, try blogging about what you’re being tested on!

As a side note, I need to mention some of the blog sagas that I follow outside of the Public/Digital History sphere which I dearly hope will studied and enjoyed by some historian in the distant or not-to-distant future.
Matt has been experiencing Love, History, and Adventure in Japan.
Jonathan and Theresa’s reports and pictures of Lucy and Ella’s progress has kept me smiling, hoping, and praying.
Paul’s trek across New Zealand is inspiring!
And Emily and Bryony has the scariest Christmas break ever!

Aussi, pour tout les étudients qui ont besoin apprendre le français, le Noël de Joe était aussi fou! Alors, pratiquez votre français et lisez son "blog!"