Eyes open, Listen deep, and Take actions

If you would wait for a right time, you would never start. Am I ready for whatever coming next? Who knows if I am ready or not. Why am I so hurry? Why am I taking this so seriously? Go for it, as David, the co-founder of Pulse Energy, said at International Student Energy Summit. What I learned through this semester in dialogue is listening deeply what’s around me, stopping places where I would usually pass by, and talking to people who would not be with otherwise.

I had an urban picnic on last Friday with dialoguers and random people at Vancouver City Centre Skytrain Station. I was talking to a street musician, shared laughs and stories. I knew him before, or I saw him a couple of times on the street. But now I had a chance to talk to him and know little more about his stories, the street I use everyday looks little different. This change, this little change is a snap-shot of what I have changed.

I am becoming more interested in education. I believe there are many potentials at university learning, and a learning experience can expand out of classrooms. I love the concept of “the city is the classroom” raised via Janet Moore and Duane Elverum, co-founder of CityStudio Vancouver. I still remember the first day at SFU and saw full of young students at Academic Quadrangle; we can’t waste this young energy! What if we apply Google’s 80-20 Rule at university where students can work on whatever they want in 20% of their time at university? What if we work on real projects with City instead of making an application in class which will be never used afterwords? Why do we even have a campus when we have full of things happening in the city? Can we have a classroom in the city? I still believe the value of theoretical learning, and it is nice to have a “just learning” space. But we should always keep an eye open for expanding a learning experience and thinking about how we can apply what we learn in school and practice elsewhere. My project is about promoting use of open data from City of Vancouver in class and work with City to make something cool. Students gain an experience and expose city data, university can promote community engagements and City gets work done. This is just a starting point. I am hoping to keep the relationship with the City and the university, getting involved in both Greenest City Initiatives and Open Data Initiatives. Don’t think too hard, just do it and keep the passion!

Eyes open, listen deep, take actions, and focus what’s now.
Most importantly, have fun!