things to do...

I have come to the realization that school is almost over and I'm not nearly done with all my school work. It is overwhelming, but I know that everything will get done so I try not stress. I like starting up new semesters because that means I get to see all my friends again. Towards the end of the semester I get excited that school is almost out and I get a nice long break. When finals are finally over I breathe a sigh of relief. Then I realize I won't see very many of my friends for a while and start looking forward to the start of a new semester. My point is that I am never satisfied, I am always looking ahead instead of focusing on what is here and now.

It is not so easy to try to focus on the present because we are conditioned to think ahead. We sign up for classes well in advance, we plan for events weeks beforehand, we are always thinking about things to come and not things that are already here! I don't know how to stop this cycle, no matter how hard I try to think only about my immediate surroundings, I will always be 'forced' to assimilate to the norms of society. I must meet deadlines and that requires thinking ahead.

It is a good concept though, to always look forward.

computers

I seriously think my level of stress is significantly increased by the frustration of not receiving full cooperation from my computer! How is it that such a wonderful thing as technology can make me want to pull my hair out, I literally grab my head in my frustration. I love my computer, it helps me do great things, but there are times when I can't get it to do what I want. I know it is partly my fault for not knowing how to take care of it properly and not knowing exactly how to operate it, for I know how to do only simple things on this elaborate machine.

languages

I feel that people who don't speak a foreign language are at a disadvantage when it comes to the state wide writing exams. I remember taking the state English exams and a section of the test was always finding the right definition for a particular word. The words on the exam many times were words that most people wouldn't know at the particular grade level i was in, but knowing Spanish which is derived from Latin helped me so much. being able to pick out the root word, if the word was Latin based, gave me a fair advantage over those who didn't know another Latin based language. I might not use all the words I know, but I feel that I know many more words, and their definitions, than the average American student. I'm not claiming I knew the definition to all the words on the exam but I could at least make an educated guess, and not to my surprise I always did well.

Now that I am older I realize that the advantages of foreign languages are even greater. I not only was able to score high on state English exams but now that I want to learn still another language it is facilitated by the knowledge of Spanish. Never mind that the language is Italian, which is fairly similar to Spanish, but it is another language. All the Latin based languages are 'inter-communicable' which also gives me an advantage as an international citizen. Being able to communicate with many different people in many different parts of the world is a qualification that the average American student can't claim to have, unless of course their homes are interracial, but even then many opt to make english the official family language and the secondary language is forgotten or not taught at all.