| I stare blearily at my computer screen, the little clock in the corner reads11:56 PM. I click on the tool bar and check the word count. 835. Dang it. 700 words to go, and my inspiration is cooling like the instant cappuccino next to me. I glance at my planner, the heavily-hightlighted page reminding me this is not the only assigment I have to finish before morning rolls around. I gouge my fists into my eyes and re-read what I have written:
" Living in the present is a skill that few people retain as they get older and busier. Ueland refers back to the natural creativity of children, pointing out that this is fueled by the fact that children live in the present, not in the future of the next paper deadline or the business trip next weekend. 'Creative power,' says Ueland, 'lives in the present (43).' "
I half-heartedly type a few more redundant sentences while my mind fast-forwards to tomorrow. Lets see, I could finish this after my 8am class, before chapel and after I do my Blackboard assignment--wait, I have to study for that quiz, then I work at 4:30. This weekend? Nope, I have to finish that historical research essay....
As a student, living in the present is a practice alien to me, as I was reminded while writing an analysis of Brenda Ueland's book If You Want to Write for a class. My mind is constantly jumping ahead to the next deadline, the next project due date, or how to coordinate a work shift with a Power Point and a zillion other things that need to be done. As I threw my analysis together, I felt frustrated over my inability to slow down and ponder what Ueland was saying. This weekend, I promised myself. This weekend I'll pick it up again and really digest it. But of course "this weekend" was already filled with other assignments and commitments, and I didn't pick up the book any more than I was able to do the other leisurely actitvities I mentally noted over the course of the week. So I moved it to spring break.
Spring break has become for me, as I suspect many other students, a sort of time warp from real life where I can finally do something that is not required or has a due date. Things like learning Italian, reading The Case for Hilary Clinton, and getting my nose pierced are all things that have been shunted to spring break. Lately, though, things I want to do over spring break include refilling the coolant in my car and balancing my check book. Hmm, sounds more like a time to catch up on life than a break from life. Perhaps one of these days I can pull out my planner and see if there is anything I can get rid of to simplify my life. After, of course, I finish that high-lighted list. |
