I was approached by a college student back in November, one of my nieces friends, who wanted to interview me for a Development Psychology class shes taking this semester. Heres a portion of her final paper, which I want to share with you because I think she did a good job capturing my world view: Dave Tabler’s proudest accomplishment is his website he created eight years ago, highlighting history in Appalachia and honoring some of the people that have come out of that area. Growing up there, Dave saw the stereotypes played out; many people who come out of this area are written off has “moonshinin’ hillbillies.” “Why are we running away from being from Appalachia? I’m going to explore these issues and it’s going to be on my terms. If I hadn’t gone to school in New York, I wouldn’t have this fire in the belly about needing to do this.” The first few years of life are intensely impressionable years, but midlife as the second highest ratio of development and the peak of creativity and productivity (class notes). This could have been what spurred Dave’s idea to go on and make a website that has about two hundred thousand visitors each year, rather than just worry about those who aren’t recognized for their background. His goal is to give young people a means to show off their history and take pride in their home. In the same way he read to his nieces and nephews, his intention is to encourage, inspire, and educate young people and is looking ahead to future generations. When I asked Dave if he had a favorite stage of life he gave a refreshing response. To answer that question that way means you see your life as passed already. I look at everyday as a fresh opportunity. Great things have happened and I’m grateful for that but I don’t want to only dwell on those; I’d rather live in the present and enjoy were I’m going right now.” This is a continuation of his pursuit of a need for purpose to find fulfillment in life and remain future oriented rather than mourning the past. Mr. Tabler articulated that when he thinks of the past, present, and future, he thinks of the character of the people involved more than the events themselves. He compared our generation to that of the pilgrims that aided in the settling of our nation. Today, we are a society coasting and small minded without looking at the big picture. There is an incredibly comfortable and self-centered quality to us as we are on our phones and computers, and not focused outwards. No one would ever get on a boat and risk their lives to go somewhere unknown. However, I appreciate that Mr. Tabler had dedicated his time to encouraging the people of this generation who might be embarrassed or uninformed about their own background. He explained that he is not a pessimist about the future because we have the ability to adapt, innovate, and change, those of his generation and of mine. “The survival of America’s future is the collective ability to embrace change. One of the strengths of humanity is our ability to think of new ways of doing things. Something ‘old people’ get wrong is that change is a constant and will always be a constant.” Mr. Tabler doesn’t seem hung up on the past and going back to “the way things were,” which is what gives him a dynamic role in catering to young people through his website. He is clearly taking advantage of his years in midlife and now later life to utilize his contemporary resources. “These are the good ol days. Right now is the good ol days! And tomorrow will the good ol days, also.”
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 20:00:23 +0000
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