Survive or Thrive?

by Diane Temple

Split infinitive. Draw. Past participle. Sweep. Weak verb. PFD. Twelve-page position paper. Twenty-mile canoe adventure.

    Welcome to Comp I. Look around you right now. (Seriously, take a glance. Look beyond who’s wearing what and who got what pierced. Take a pulse of the students in the classroom.) What do you see? Do you see some students excited at whatever challenge is thrown their way? Do you see students happy to be surrounded by friendly faces? Do you see students who are already thinking about what will be going on next hour, after school, this weekend, next year? Do you see some students who are already questioning whether they belong in this college-credit class? Do you see a teacher who wholeheartedly believes you will end this composition journey a better writer, thinker, and person?

Okay, right now you’re thinking, “Wow. That’s exactly what I noticed. How did you know?”

I know because recently I played the role of student on a Boundary Waters canoe class for educators. Among the many objectives of the class, including refueling the energy for school and discussing the role of teacher-leader, we had to learn to function as a team on the evergreen-framed lakes and rivers in northern Minnesota. For five days I stepped out of my summertime role of pool mom and book worm to challenge myself, a novice paddler.

In our group of six, I saw the exact type of students I questioned if you saw. The confident outdoor enthusiasts, The happy camper. The positive leader. And then me—the one who believed she didn’t belong.

Now, obviously I’m here with you now so you know I didn’t drown, make a good breakfast for a bear or get lost in the dense forage. What you might not know is that one of the greatest personal outcomes of the trip is my clearer sense of empathy for any of you who might feel some butterflies (not the pretty, colorful ones that make you smile but more so the moth-like ones that make you cringe). You might feel as if you will be judged and labeled, as if you don’t write as well as your peers, you don’t know what you’re talking about, you don’t have the skills or desire to do what’s asked of you. You fear you’ll disappoint someone, including yourself.

And your concerns are all justifiable. Someone here knows how to speak grammar—split infinitive, past participle—they get it and you don’t. Someone has already thought of her topic for her mammoth position paper, and you haven’t. Someone’s concerned about his 4.0 GPA being at risk, and you’re afraid of failing. You are entitled to your anxieties.

But my question for you: What will you do with those concerns? You know you will survive. (No one’s died from a comp-related death—yet.) But how you choose to survive and thrive is up to you. 

You have the paddles to success here. You have me as a constant source of guidance. I had Rob who always knew the path and patiently and passionately showed us how to get there. You have Stacey who can proofread papers better than a newspaper editor. I had Bones who could guide and portage the canoe with ease. You have Ashton who will go beyond reading your essays and truly listen to what you’re sharing. I had Rex whose sense of humor made me believe we are all more alike than we are different. You have Angie who will make you feel as if every essay you write is the best one yet. I had Beth who served as my personal cheerleader whose confidence made me believe I had more in me than I though. You have Harley who knows what’s going on and will always lend vision and support. I had Terry whose outstretched hand on the landing reminded me I wasn’t in this alone. 

But most importantly you have you. You know more than you think you do. .You will care more than you think you will. And I can guarantee you when you turn in your final portfolio and don your cap and gown, when you load the last canoe and head back home, you will realize that you found more inside of you than you thought you had.

So, campers, it’s time to break camp, fasten your PFD, paddle across the deep lake and draw and sweep to the best of your ability and know that you belong and will not only survive but thrive.

Are you a real estate agent? Does social media scare you?

Realtors are some of the best marketers in an offline person-to-person environment. You’re incredibly brilliant at getting to know your clients on a very personal level, getting involved in your community, and connecting with your local market.

What you’re not very good at is applying this to your social media.(Well, most of you aren’t!).

The best real estate marketers think of social online like they do social offline!

Social media provides a way to further connect with your local clients and groups and boost your real estate marketing efforts. Social can build trust, and spread your marketing through friends of friends.

But how do you do it?

In this article I’ll give you an overview of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest (and a few more) and how real estate agents can use them for social media marketing.