“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” – Teddy Roosevelt

For those of us slogging along trying to make it through – this quote is a good one. How would I paraphrase this – Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I enjoy reading presidential quotes. Especially the ones that ring true through generations. This one by good ol’ Teddy strikes a chord with me. The language is a little lofty, and you’ll definately never hear anybody from generation me talk like this, but I still think it is time tested.

This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it for good.
What I do today is important, because
I am exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes,
this day will be gone forever,
leaving in its place something
that I have traded for it.
I want it to be gain, not loss;
good not evil; success not failure;
in order that I shall not regret
the price I paid for it.
Author Unknown

Today I am spending a couple of hours compiling my ‘to do’ list for next week. I have to honestly say that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Last week can be described as a week in which I ran around with my hair on fire – running from one hole to the next with a super sized shovel to furiously make each one a little deeper. It is interesting the things that we sign on for, and how our day can rapidly fill up. The time that we spend awake doing these things adds up to between 14-16 hours per day. Read this, learn that, write this. Repeat.

Perhaps that is the reason that I chose the Avatar that I did – It is representative of my mindset throughout the week. I hate feeling this way all of the time. I lose the meaning behind my actions.

As I sit here compiling my list, beside me sit my two dogs, patiently waiting in anticipation for my next move, and hoping that it includes an activity with them. As they do, the keys of my laptop continually peck out the tap tap sound, and the anxiety builds with each keystroke. I look over to them again, and then a moment of realization is chrystallized in their eager eyes. Let’s go for a walk – and it seems to me that I need this as bad as they do.

I have made up my mind after reviewing the anonymous quote above – to take a step back, take a breath, and go reflect on the week before. I need some time to take it all in. A million miles an hour all of the time is unsustainable. In the simplicity of tossing a frisbee to these wonderful teachers, I am learning to stop and live, rather than just constantly going and doing.

“Writers have two main problems. One is writer’s block, when the words won’t come out at all, and the other is logorrhea, when the words come so fast that they can hardly get to the wastebasket in time.”

Cecilia Bartholomew

I thought this quote would really touch on the extremes that writer’s go through. As a student who is beginning a very writing intensive semester, I am sure I will feel the pressure to come up with creative and ingenious ideas. I also know that there will be times where I will be sitting here, stupefied by my laptop monitor. It is then that I will think of Cecelia.