Getting to Know Madison

You may have noticed that there were two blogs up at the launch of Forté last week, and are wondering why now there's only one. We've decided to combine them together to create one forum of discussion. It won't be the same person contributing every week, but we will have some regulars.

Last week you met Jessica Hamm, our editorial director. This week I'm writing my first entry, and I hope to get to know the Forté readers over the next months. So please don't hesitate to post a response online.

I thought I'd write about an interesting experience I had a couple weekends ago. My friend invited me to go on a sunset sail one Friday night with a group of Hoofers people I didn't know very well. Although I've never been involved with Hoofers before, I love to go boating, so I accepted his offer.

We met down at the Hoofer's pier and set sail with about 10 people on board. It was a mish-mash of people brought together by the threads of a few common friends. I was glad when everyone started introducing themselves, because I was scared they'd all know each other and I'd sit there quietly all night.

That's far from what ended up happening. We had such great conversations learning about each other- from stories about where we've all travelled, to how we all ended up in Madison, to what we do for a living. It was interesting, because we were all so dissimilar, yet we found things to talk about that we had in common.

I learned so much that night. Not just things about these people, but about myself. The main thing I realized is that sometimes I get so caught up in my own little world, that I don't even realize how much this city has to offer. I think that this is typical for most people. You find your group of friends, and likely you will have similar interests, so you stick with that group, doing the things you enjoy together. It's only natural.

But this sail intrigued me. I wonder who or what else is out there that I'd end up liking. And how do I meet these people or find these new activities. I think that's something that challenges most of us as young professionals. We want to get out there and experience new things, but how do we do it? My advice: take every opportunity you have to do something new. Even if you think you'll look stupid, becuase you won't know anyone. And I hope Forté can expose you to some new ideas, and we can make Madison a place where people feel connected to each other and everything going on around us.