GRTC Preident's Message for June, 2010:

I usually like to write papers for school. I like to research facts and to work my thoughts and ideas into a concise summation. I like to argue a point or try to persuade someone to see things the way I do or to at least understand my vision. I enjoy writing these articles once I get started. It reminds me of when I was younger and I would spend hours and hours putting together puzzles. I gather the random thoughts roaming around in my head and attempt to form them into a picture that everyone can see.
 I like words. I used to love reading. I still do but I rarely do it anymore. I used to read the thesaurus too. It lives next to my computer where I do most of my writing. I often find myself trying to articulate an idea, to bring my thought to life, but it requires a more precise molding or phrasing.
Sometimes when my thoughts are too random to put together on paper I will just look up words or topics for inspiration. I was feeling philosophical earlier so I looked up the definition of life. What is “life” and how would you explain it? I guess life isn’t simple. My dictionary page which is larger than an 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper, with print that requires a microscope, devotes more than an entire column to the word. Nope, too much, too deep, too tired. I also googled “running”. Wikipedia certainly covers the subject. I was expecting a definition not an entire analysis on every aspect of the body’s movement. It even included the benefits of, common injuries and a speed analysis. Like a lot of other ideas it looks great on paper, now if I could just apply it to my “life”.
Reading and running have both been wonderful escapes for me. When I read I become the character in the book. I get to live someone else’s life for a time. When I run I would lose myself in other ways. In nature, to the music on my mp3 player, in conversation with friends, or just in the sound of my breathing and footsteps as I put space between me and the complications of life at home or work.
 When I feel good about life I find I begin to feel creative. It is as if the world is a place that I can shift, bend, color or change in some way to suit me….at least my own little corner of it. The difference between the bad days and the good days is usually my perspective. The bad days consist of life happening to me and feeling as if I don’t have any real choices. The good days are the days that I look at life as a photographer. Yes, life is happening all around me, but I can point my camera in the direction I choose and frame my snapshots with what I want in my view. Where I focus is my choice.
Today was one of those days that I tried to tame my thoughts and put them on paper before the deadline. I feel stressed and distracted but I still feel good. I have a big paper due in a week and for some reason I am struggling to put it together. Like in this article my thoughts have their own mind. I just have to keep pecking away at the keyboard until the words form the story in my head, like a snapshot of my mind. I will just keep working on my focus and smile.


Deb Wyspianski
President, GRTC