Looking for the current “good” in my life has also been exploring my “why,” why I choose to work the way I do or why I volunteer my time. As In exploring this week’s reading and the blog topic, I knew that my current “good” is directly to my “why.” Arnett, Fritz, and Bell indicates that “the good” is what we as a culture strives to “protect or promote.”

At this point in my life, “the good” has changed quite a bit. My good as a college student was to focus on the good of my family and to my future. I prioritized my grades, my job, and eventually began focusing on my next steps after college while looking for a job. Now, as a graduate student, entrepreneur, and an employee, I am in a position to have to prioritize those things above everything else. I have to keep my focus on my present to ensure and protect my future.

However, although my priorities lie in my present, I also have an eye on my community. I’ve always had a passion for service and a desire to positively impact the people around me. This was a “good” that was taught to me as a child. Both of my parents instilled a sense of service in me as a child and as a youth, encouraging me to go on mission trips and volunteer in my free time. This ties in directly with my “why.” I choose to serve the communities for the good of those who live within them. Life is about more than just my future, it’s about ours. My substantive good is the act of service to a greater good. The communication practices for this would be the act of going on trips such as Appalachia Service Project, serving communities in rural Appalachia and making homes warmer, safer, and drier for the families throughout the region.

I look forward to exploring this concept and more throughout the duration of this class and integrating the concept of  “good” into my “why.”

Works Cited:

• Arnett, R. C., Fritz, J. M. H., & Bell, L. M. (2009). Communication ethics literacy: Dialogue and difference. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.