Post #7 - Extra Credit - Creativity

Post #7 – Extra Credit – Creativity

                Creativity is a very important aspect of life.  Without it, people would not have a way to express themselves.  Creativity comes in many different forms.  Some people draw, and are able to create masterful works of art.  Others may find that they are able to achieve the same thing using different ways, such as working with clay, paint, or other forms of artwork.  I have seen people that use the actual items that they are trying to create to make their own.

                One such experience was with my oldest brother.  He always wanted to own a hot rod truck.  After years of searching for the right one, he finally settled down and bought a 1949 Ford truck.  After many hours in the garage working on it, he finally got it running.  It was never a pretty truck, but it was well on its way.  He was absolutely crushed when it was wrecked while hunting that fall.

                I have seen several other examples of personal creativity.  Some have been cars, while others were either sculptures or crafts.  I personally chose to express myself both through words, and through arts and crafts.  I used to be a very outdoors person, however after my car accident I found that I was having a lot of problems physically.  I wasn’t able to perform the activities that I enjoyed, so I had to learn other ways to express myself.  With the help of my mother, I learned how to crochet and how to make beaded artwork.  I still use those skills to this day.

                Another way I have found to use my own creativity is to express myself through my works, both in class and outside of class.  I have found that I have a knack for working with computers, and I have decided to make that part of my college experience.  If I have to use them, I might as well use them to the best of my ability.  I have also started sharing my experience with others who are having problems that I have already learned about.

                Overall, I would have to say that being in college is a good thing for me.  I am learning a lot of new skills, which only add to my creative personality, and result in greater opportunities for me.  I am looking forward to the future, and making plans on settling down once I finish school.  I have a goal in mind and I work towards that goal every day.

Post #6 - Accidents

Post #6 – Accidents

            Accidents happen.  Some are horrible tragedies while others are just minor inconveniences.  Growing up, I always thought that if a person got hurt they had it coming for some reason.  Later in life, I learned that isn’t always the case.  Sometimes good people get hurt because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.  This was the case with myself.

            Back in November of 2000, I was in a very bad car accident.  I broke my back in two places, and wound up not being able to work for quite some time.  For a long time after the accident, I kept wondering what I had done to deserve what had happened to me.  I sought professional help for depression and multiple suicide attempts.  Only after coming to the reality that I had done nothing to deserve what happened, but rather that it was an accident, was when the recovery process could truly begin.

            Every day I have problems with that injury, but I have to fight through the hard times to be able to enjoy the good times.  One lesson I learned through that ordeal was that I needed to slow down and learn to enjoy life a little more.  At that point in my life, I was doing what most people my age were doing.  Drinking and partying all the time seemed to take the majority of my days.  Only after having my life flipped upside down did I learn to appreciate what I have and work for the things I want in life.

            My current goal is to earn a college degree and start working again after almost 5 years of living on a fixed income.  One thing that was taken from me in that accident was the freedom to work in the field that I love.  I love working on ranches and taking care of animals.  Due to a broken back, I can no longer perform the duties of that job, so I have to return to school and learn a new skill so that I can accomplish what I have set out to do.

            People say that living on a fixed income would be nice.  I know I did.  However, after living on that little amount of money every month for the last 5 years, I have come to realize that while it is nice to be able to do anything you want, it is really hard to enjoy all the time I have because I can’t get out and do anything.  This is the reason that I have made a decision to return to school and earn a degree.  I want to have the financial ability to enjoy all that life has to offer.

            I was a very lucky person.  I could have wound up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.  Honestly, I don’t know why I am not in one.  I wake up every morning thankful that I can stand up and walk around the house.  I never imagined I would be feeling this way at the age of 35.  My advice is this, don’t take anything for granted.  No matter what you have, who you are, or any other circumstance, life can take away a lot of things, and when it happens, it takes a long time to recover from it.

Post #5 - Deadlines

Post #5 – Deadlines

            Deadlines are very important in life.  Without them, nothing would get accomplished in a timely manner.  Deadlines are faced by everyone, every single day.  We face them at work, school, and at home.  Some deadlines are productive, and others seem to be more annoying than anything else.  Deadlines are important because they establish when certain projects or aspects of life need to be finished.  At school, deadlines are the due dates for assignments and projects.  At work, they can be anything from times of the day to certain days to get tasks done.  At home, deadlines come into play when paying bills, cooking meals, and establishing bedtimes for children.

            A personal experience with deadlines at home happened to me when I was teaching my children what time they should be in bed.  I have always been a night owl, so going to bed early is not an option for me.  Trying to teach my children that they need to be asleep by 9:30 pm during the week and 10:00 pm on weekends was a chore for me.  My children would hear me moving around the house after they were told to be in bed, and then they would wake up and come out to see what was going on.  Through this experience, I have learned to make an example of myself for my children.  I started going to bed earlier than I was, and my children saw this and started to go to bed at the right time.

            I would have to say that facing deadlines with the mentality that they are just tasks that need to be done by a certain time or day has helped me through life.  I don’t think of the deadlines as anything bad, but rather I challenge myself to see if I can accomplish the tasks early, and get everything right the first time.