Monday, April 30, 2012

Finals Week: Writing on Demand

Finals week has caught up with me again.  I have been struggling to finish two short papers to finally complete requirements for a course I received an incomplete in last spring.  Why is it so hard to write these two papers?  They are even along the lines of where my greatest strengths in writing are.  I love black and white, logic, sequence, putting things together in order, thinking through how things fit.  Admittedly, I am not a writer, but critiques of science and research are far easier for me than creative writing.  Or so I have always thought.  Recently, I am beginning to wonder.  Why can I write a couple of pages in my journal in 30 minutes or so?  Why can I draft blog posts? Facebook notes? I do take the effort to make sure wording is accurate, anything I have quoted is appropriately cited, etc. So, why can I write these, but not assignments?  My latest conclusion (as of 5 minutes ago) is that I cannot write on demand.  I can free flow what I am thinking, learning, experiencing, etc.  I can vent out frustrations, negative thoughts, other less-than-admirable content.  What is so hard about writing something that I put the outline together myself, chose the papers I am to analyze, picked the topics based on interests?  Is it simply pressure of deadlines?  I don’t think so.  Why am I writing this now?  Because it gives me something to do when I am struggling to point of frustration with the assigned papers that absolutely must be finished ASAP.  So, I am washing dishes, cleaning, thinking as I work, jotting down the thoughts here.  Open documents on my computer? Why, the two assigned papers (still trying), and my journal for today of which this random piece is actually just one section. Hopefully, after my lovely little side track here, I will be able to again focus and get these papers finished...!!!
 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Weekend and this Week in a Nutshell

I had an amazing weekend with family! This was the first I got to go back since Christmas break! Everyone was able to be there! It was nice to catch up in person with everyone. It was lovely to be able to relax fully-very long daily naps, or multiple naps per day if shorter naps.

I enjoyed a homemade meal for supper-not even a crock pot one-a rarity these days. There are cookies in the oven, smelling wonderful! I am trying to avoid the state of being totally, completely overwhelmed...by choosing not to think about the full list of everything that has to be accomplished, or the short amount of time to accomplish said list. I had time to go home and write for awhile today between meetings and class-and ended up falling asleep until I was wakened coughing-still not over this crazy cold/cough. I am sadly confused regarding day of the week due to not coming back until Monday afternoon and not going in to work until yesterday. I have bright potential opportunities and am waiting to see what God does with me over the next few months as I strive to meet the various deadlines and remain resting peacefully in Him at the same time!