You Really Only Know by Doing: 

A Dedication to Max Gedro

As someone who loves to plan, to strategize, to chart out different scenarios with respect to my courses, research, nonprofit work, and even my home life, it is ironic that I also know this to be true: The best way to learn something, and the only way to find out if something really works, is by doing it.  When I got my first Yorkie, Maximilian, I was not entirely sure I was ready for a puppy. I had never raised one by myself.  Max and I were inseparable, particularly when he was a puppy. Soon after I got him, I took him to my Research Methods class at the University of Georgia. My anxiety over carrying a concealed Yorkie into class was dwarfed by my anxiety to leave my baby boy at home. Also, I wanted to show my dog loving classmates my baby. I will remember this, ever so vividly, for the rest of my life. I fed Max outside of River's Crossing Hall, and after he ate, I packed him up in his navy blue Sherpa bag. I brought him into class, sat down, and Dr. Juanita Johnson Bailey began her lecture. I could not stand it-I had to whisper to my buddy seated next to me "look at this!" - and unzipped just a little bit so she could see this adorable creature of mine. When she saw him she squealed so loud that Dr. Johnson-Bailey stopped mid-stride in her lecture to see what the commotion was. I realized, in that moment, that mine may be the shortest academic career on record. Fate was kind to me, though. Dr. Johnson-Bailey is a dog lover, and she loved Max from the minute she saw him. To this day, she says that he was the best student in her class.

John Michael Montgomery sings: Life's a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. Don't worry 'bout what you don't know, life's a dance, you learn as you go.

Here's to taking action, and living life to its fullest.