“The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.” – Aristotle
For my focal theme this semester in INTE 5340, I’ve chosen the topic of adversity. Since 2003, I’ve gone through several layoffs working in the television production business. It’s hard to describe how it feels to have a stable income and sense of purpose taken away from you through no fault of your own. Explanations such as “It’s the economy” or “We needed to make a change” do little to address the traumatic shock of a livelihood taken.
I’ve often thought of adversity as a challenge not by choice, whereas an adventure (swimming with sharks, parachuting, etc) is a challenge by choice. My intention is to focus on economic adversity as a result of a job loss. I think this is a topic that does not get enough attention in our society. This project will unfold over the semester on my blog.
My main learning goals:
- I hope to learn how digital storytelling content can best be used to express how people, like myself, deal with the adversity of a job loss.
- I hope visitors to my blog will learn how the adversity of job loss and unemployment can impact the lives of people in the United States.