Welcome

If you're reading this text, the following two statements are true:
(1) You're not me.  (I've already read this.)
(2) You're interested in reading what I think. (For some reason... :))

Thank you on both of these counts, but most importantly--thanks for not being me!  How boring would life be if we were all the same?  I'm working on being the best person I can be, and I trust you--in your own unique way--are doing the same.  For my first post, I want to both disclose my goal in writing this blog and explain why it is named "To Be Determined."

I've decided to begin keeping a blog because I want to introduce a little bit more visibility and transparency into my life.  It's 2012 and we all know, for better or for worse, privacy is disappearing.  Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., personal information surrounds us.  Like most things, I think this is both a blessing and a curse.  Which side of the scale each social network falls upon depends on the user's application.  The aforementioned networks have connected us in ways that were unimaginable ten years ago, and who knows where we'll be ten years from now. Where we'll be ten years from now is a problem for "Future Joe."

If you believe that experiences are more valuable when they're shared, then I think you'll enjoy reading both this post and the ones that follow.  Working towards a career as a professional triathlete is no easy profession.  It is a 168 hour/week job (for the math majors--that's right--there are exactly 168 hours in a week) without the paycheck.  I think the money, though, becomes secondary when the work one's doing is fulfilling.  Swimming, biking, running, and studying performance continues to make me feel alive.  When I can't commit myself 100% to my pursuit, I will find a new career.

While the aforementioned path is personally fulfilling, it is also lonely one.  As I said before--a blessing and a curse.  Working out 30 hours/week is generally not indicative of a booming social life.  I hope this blog will catalyze a conversation.  That's right--I want to hear what you think!  I'm a social guy, and I believe that the greatest gift we have as human beings is our ability to share ourselves with one another.  We can share our talents, our creations, our passions, and our personalities now more than at any other time in history.  Although we do most of this unconsciously, these interactions make life worth living!

Now...why name this blog "To Be Determined"?  Isn't that what you say when you don't know what to say?  YES!  Possibility is what makes us alive.  We have the ability to take action and change our situation.  No matter what the doctors say, you are not alive because your heart is beating or because electrical currents are racing through your body.  These are merely indicators of life.  What makes you alive is your potential to enact change in this world.  One must know that his/her skill set is unique.  Since no one else has had the experiences you've lived, no one else on this planet thinks the way you think!  Tomorrow morning, you should wake up excited because you've been given the gift of having potential--even your decision to wake up is a choice!  Although it is easy to become paralyzed by routine, I think it is critical to remember you always have the potential to change.  As soon as something becomes "determined," it cannot be changed.  It is dead.

Now, that is a pretty good explanation (If I might say so myself!), but it's not the only reason why I chose "To Be Determined" for the name of my blog.  The english major in me likes more to this expression than I've explained above.  Yet like any great artist, I will reveal no more.  I'll leave the other interpretations up to you!

Now, why have you been reading this post for so long?  As a human being who is alive, you've had the potential to switch to a new webpage this whole time!  Don't you know how much other cool stuff is out there on the internet?!  I'm kidding.  Thank you for continuing to read my thoughts.  I hope this is the beginning of a conversation that we'll share in the weeks, months, and years to come.  

Joe