Why The Withdrawal From Social Media?

People that interact with me regularly on Social Media have asked, "Where have you been, and are you doing okay?" To answer, I've been working from home and I have been reading a lot more and outside since the weather is nice and my doctor has me on a kickass allergy regimen. I'm just dandy and not one sandwich has been thrown at me while riding my bicycle in traffic and I have not been doored. 

I don't have a ton of followers or close friends on SM. If I had to put a number on it, 25 are friends in real life, and about half of them wondered what my deal was. I was possibly a hermit crab in a previous life. I'm not much for socializing to begin with and Social Media had the appeal of interacting as much as I wanted to and not worrying about the physical anxiety that comes with the physical presence of other people.

So far I've experienced a few temporary bans and holds on my accounts due to bots and targeted reporting of my posts. I don't have the anonymity that others have with their accounts. I use bits of my actual name because I have nothing to hide, seriously. Some have gone so far as to accuse me of being a bot. As much as I wish I had robotic legs (since both of my knees hate me and the stairs I climb regularly) I am very much human. Social Media is almost as exhausting as being around actual people in real life, almost.

So nothing salacious or viral happened, I'm just doing something I would normally do in real life which is to stand in the corner and observe (judge). Next week I'll tell you about some things I've learned about myself since I began talking to a licensed therapist. I really hope you are well.

BC

Bringing Back Writing Wednesday

Hey, long time no write. I tried the social media thing, and I've come to the conclusion that it is just not for me. I enjoy it enough to share a smile, catch a laugh, or hold people accountable, but it's not the place for me to share what I really want to share. The short attention span or short format is just not who I am. I need to ramble, but I want to give the reader the option to continue reading or just skip forward. So back to Writing Wednesdays for me. If you're down with that, read on.

Today's subject, my new class, Strategy of Games.
This Spring Semester we continued with full remote online learning. I introduced a special topic for the Physical Education Department. My thought for this class was to get the students to do some introspection on their decision making processes. I only got half the semester to work with them, but in that half we explored risk management, outcome analysis, probability, and put it all together in a practical way using games like checkers, connect four, Among Us, dissecting heist movies like Foolproof, and actual robberies and crimes.

After reading some of their feedback and comments, I'm happy to share they enjoyed the course. The most common comment was some form of, "I wish someone had walked me through this sooner." That struck a nerve with me. As a volleyball coach, this is partly how I train self-sufficient young adults for volleyball and the things that come after. They don't realize it, but I've been teaching strategic thinking the entire time they have been with me. For those athletes that jump to coaching, it's immediately apparent. For others, it was a gradual shift in their thinking and their decision making process. Some of them call it impulse control. It felt really good to help students flex their brains and learn something new about themselves.

If you have questions or want to see an outline and lesson plans for this class, please let me know. I would be happy to help you adapt this coursework for an entire semester or High School students.