Deprecated: The Build In Public University Mascot

Note: This mascot was deprecated in favor of the hitchhiker. That ties in better to the overall shared story.

For any university, one of the most important parts of the institution is the mascot. It's a way to embody a vibe or connect to a location. For some, the mascot symbolizes traits that the university wants associated with the students. Usually, the mascot is most closely tied to athletics.

Now, I don't plan on the Build In Public University football team being a thing. Although, with the continued expansion of the Big Ten, I'm not going to rule anything out completely. Kevin, feel free to get in touch.

But I have been thinking about figuring out a mascot that can act as a rallying point for the university. A way for prospective students to look at it and think "yeah, I want to be one of those."

And as I thought about it more and more, I had one option jump out to me as the obvious choice: the chimera.

"The term "chimera" has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals, to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling."

First of all, chimeras breathe fire, which is pretty cool. But more interestingly (and importantly), the chimera is composed of parts from multiple creatures, traditionally lion, goat, and snake. According to Wikipedia, "The term "chimera" has come to describe any mythical or fictional creature with parts taken from various animals, to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling."

Now, I don't know about you, but I find that to be extremely similar to the goals I have as an entrepreneur or creator or whatever else you want to call it. I do all sorts of things that are wildly imaginative, implausible, and hopefully at some point, dazzling. That's exactly what I want to aspire to.

And I think the idea of taking parts of different animals (or different roles) and becoming a blend of all that are needed as a particularly apt description. At times, I'm doing marketing. Or sales. Or building. Or automation. I have to wear so many hats it can be a bit overwhelming at times when I need to figure out which one I should wear. But I also love it. And it makes me so much more creative because I can view things from a number of different angles, and that, in turn, allows for a much higher level of creativity.

So, as I was looking for a mascot for Build In Public University, the chimera fit perfectly.

Stay tuned. I've been playing with Midjourney to create various mascots and I'll be asking for feedback on them shortly!