The Pursuit of Happiness.

Keep the video in mind.  We’ll get back to that in a second.

I started blogging in August of 2009 because my thoughts didn’t fit in the character allotment for Facebook statuses. That and there were constant cries of, “You should have a blog” said to me in passing. So, I decided to start one. But I didn’t want to do it under my name because I didn’t think I was interesting enough and I didn’t want people knowing I was blogging. Ha.  Also people constantly refer to my family as the Huxtables and the Obamas on the regular so naturally I thought of a pseudonym that would incorporate those two ideas. Voila. Michelle Huxtable. A little Michelle Obama, a little Claire Huxtable. Snazzy. I know.

So slowly but surely it grew into this little monster. It’s kind of like a scorpion because I’m no T-Rex like some of my fellow blog friends out there. Shout out to all of you. And it’s had its changes.  I started off posting everyday Monday through Friday. And then something pretty awesome happened. I noticed that people were starting conversations on a post but by the next day their conversation was made obsolete because a new post was up. So, I switched up the blog updates to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  That’s worked out well thus far.

Anyone who’s a regular around these parts has probably noticed the right side bar that says “Most Popular Posts”. Every single post on there is one that was written when I was either really upset or just truly inspired.  Well believe it or not, I’m not inspired (sadly) or upset (thankfully) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So another change will be made. I’m only going to update once a week. Mondays. Michelle Mondays. Well not really Michelle Mondays. It doesn’t have a name but it will be Mondays.

Why the change? Everyday I think to myself what am I contributing to the world? I only want to put out quality. I don’t want to write just to meet a quota of three posts per week or a deadline of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I want to take over the world. Lofty goal? Maybe. But it makes sense. I can’t imagine people set out to be mediocre so why would I say “Oh I don’t know where I want this blog to go… I just want it to be.” I want it to be something that people refer to as a source of information and enlightenment. And in order to do that I have to “do me”. I got to a point where “success” was only measured via the mediums of comments, retweets, and my posts being posted elsewhere like Facebook stasues and linked to from other blogs.  While that’s all fantastic my good friend Adam over at Poetic Intellect reminded me that positive affirmation isn’t the focus.  It’s just a lovely byproduct of blogging.

So I’m getting back to that.  Blogging about things that inspire me and hopefully others.  Topics that spark debate, discussion, and thought.  With that said, the Spring semester is starting back so no more vacation for me. While vacation is always epic and beyond awesome I’m always more inspired blog-wise when I’m back in the hustle and bustle of the city.  And this is where that main video clip of Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness ties in.  Trust me when I say that video clip is how I live my life.  There’s a set way you could go about goals and your life.  In terms of Chris Gardner (the character Will Smith plays) he was supposed to start at the bottom and work his way up.  But why? I pretty much always choose to go straight to the top.  I need a letter of recommendation? I could ask my professor but I’m probably going to ask the Dean.  I want to start blogging? I could just sign up for a wordpress account and take it from there but I chose to get in contact with some established bloggers and work with them.  Don’t get confused. It’s not hubris at all. Like Gardner, I just know I don’t have time to waste at the bottom so I might as well start on top.

The point of all this is to say whatever you’re thinking about embarking on in this new year, semester, relationship, job, whatever in your life just do it well and give it your best. Have you ever had a Chris Gardner moment in your life? A moment where starting from the bottom just wasn’t an option? What did you do? How did you handle it?