Point of View

Am I posting this a few days late?  Or a few days early?  I didn't realize we had one due this past Sunday, but I notice we have til this Sunday for a 'makeup' post... so ... I guess it depends on my point of view.

Did you ever notice that what we believe and and are willing to stand up for have a lot to do with our 'point-of-veiw'?  It is always easier to tell others what they 'should have done' or what you 'would have done' in their shoes.  It is always easy to take a stand on a principle you yourself will never actually face.  We talked in class about whether we thought ourselves to be creators or critics, I have taken other classes that asked whether or not we thought ourselves predjudiced or open mined.  We are asked to label ourselves in many ways, in many different formats.  Single or Married, Democrat or Republican, ProLife or ProChoice, some labels are more volitile than others. The way we choose to answer often depends on our current point of view: our current age, our current economic situation, our current job, or the status of those closest to us. 

In my early teens I was very passionate about so many things. I won't get into specifics, this isn't about the specifics.  What I most hated hearing then, in response to my spouting off, was that I was too young to have a valid opinion on so many of life's issues.  Too young to vote (therefore my political rants were unfounded) and too young (and female) for the draft (therefore not considered vested enough to hold an opinion about Regan bringing back the draft).  I turned 18 two days after the presidential election that year.  Funny thing was, that was a time when I was most aware and knowledgable of the political platforms of each of the candidates.  I may have been too young to grasp the consequences of some of the platforms, but, from my point of view, my opinions were valid at the time.

Many of my opinions were formed based upon the views of my mother - the most influential person in my life growing up.  But that doesn't mean they were the same opinions as hers.  I had my own experiences that combined with the lessons she tried to teach me that ultimately made me who I am.  Some people see the world in 'black and white', they don't consider all the shades of gray.  For them, there is only ONE right way, ONE right set of behaviors, ONE acceptable way of viewing each situation.  My grandfather was that way.  My mother rebeled, she saw all the shades of gray, considered all the possibilities before making a stand on any subject.  She taught me to do this as well.  She taught me to come up with my own 'right' answers, not just parrot what my friends said, or what my grandfather said, or even what our pastor said.  She felt knowing "why" we believed something was as important as the belief itself.

To 'put yourself in someone else's shoes' is the ability to empathize, to not just hear  their point of view, but to see it from their eyes.  It is so easy to just say, "I know, if that happened to me, I would do ________".  We never really know what we would do until we are actually in a specific situation that requires us to make that choice.   And until we have aquired sufficient knowledge, be it age related, book learned, or life experiences,  it is premature to state what we - or anyone else - should do in any given situation.  When one of my children does something wrong, I have them explain to me "why?".  My second daughter was almost expelled from kindergarten for fighting. The letter from the teacher said she held a boy by the throat against the fence until a teacher intervened.   I asked her, "Why did you choke that boy?"  She told me, "I had to stop him from hitting my friend, boys are not supposed to hit girls!"  From her point of view, she had commited an heroic act of protection - not an act of violence.  Cudos for protecting her friend, which was taken into consideration when deciding the punishment.  Punishment focused on her learning that two wrongs don't make a right.  (She had to apologize to the boy and tell the teacher how she had learned to handle similar situations in the future.)   'Point of view' colors our speech and our actions every day.  It detemines what movies we like, the friends we keep, how religious we are, and the jobs we do. 

In studying other cultures and subcultures, we learn about the why's and the how's of a life or experience different from our own. When we write about it, we are 'walking in their shoes' for part of the time while contrasting/comparing it with our own 'why's and how's'.  By learning about others, we learn more about ourselves.  We broaden our 'Point of View'.

Mental Health Weekend

I usually advise against blowing off due dates. I usually make every attempt to complete what is expected of me.  But after trying and failing (or at least feeling like my attempts were not very successful) all last week, I made a conscious decision stop trying so hard... to take a break, regroup, rejuvenate... and yes, to reevaluate.  I decided to take a Mental Health Weekend!
 
Haven't you ever needed to take a mental health day?  I knew a day wouldn't be enough, so I weighed my pros and cons, and decided to take the whole weekend.  After having a completely crappy week, the weekend was actually pretty great.  I was able to spend time shopping with my daughter, had an actual date with my husband, got to spend some much needed catch-up time with my sister-in-law, had a fabulous night out with a close friend, and even enjoyed a lazy Sunday.  Now I have the MondayBlues, with an extra dose of guilt for ignoring my homework the whole weekend.  Playing catch up with homework, knowing the points I have lost for finishing everything late should make me even more depressed.  But, I needed that weekend for myself.  Paying the price is worth every minute of fun and relaxation I was able to enjoy.  I also had plenty of time to ponder...

Have I taken on too much?  Am I just too damn old for attempting another degree?  Is a bachelors degree in nursing even worth all the time, money and effort?  Did you know a BSN does not make more $/hour than an ADN?  I knew that, and still I made the commitment to obtain my BSN.  There will be more lateral opportunities for jobs with better hours and benefits after I obtain my BSN, one of which is being qualified to work for a school system and/or Social Services.  But, thanks to Walker, that may not be enough incentive anymore!  But after my glorious, nearly guilt-free, weekend off from all my responsibilities, I do have to admit I enjoy learning (Even though I hate tests).  I am a geek at heart.  So even if I hate deadlines... they are what motivate me.

Will it all be worth it in the end?  I may not bring home a bigger paycheck, or ever get that coveted Monday thru Friday job, or even get a job that is strictly day shift.  After my lovely weekend off, I am feeling pretty positive.  I know it won't be easy, and I know I will assuredly flounder on and off through the process.  But, I will have the self satisfaction of finishing what I started, of setting a goal and obtaining it, and I will probably learn a lot along the way.  So, I guess my 'mental health' weekend was successful.

ZZzzzzzzz....

I am too tired to be creative.  Who's idea was it to create the human body in such a way that requires us to need 8 hours of sleep a night.  I have no problem going a 48 hours or so without sleep, provided I am kept busy doing something I enjoy - or something I am highly motivated to do.  Attending school, even just a class or two, is hard to do when one must work full-time to keep the lights on. It becomes even harder when said classes require you to be creative and come up with your own subject matter for papers, speeches, and now blogs. 

I use to hate the days of my earlier education when we were told what to write.  When the subject of our paper was dictated by class or by the teacher.  You remember ~  History Class:  "Write a report on John F. Kennedy"  or "Write a report on Hitler" or Geography Class:  "Write a report on Germany, or Africa".  The most creativity we were allowed was the occasional English class that would assign: "Write a report on what you did over Spring Break"...   Oh, how I longed to just be able to pick something of my own choosing!  Now my brain is too tired to think, just tell me what you want!

Remember the old adage: Be Careful What You Wish For!  I use to believe I was a creative soul.  I use to write poetry and songs.  I use to ponder philosophy, debate religions vs Darwin.    Now my only debate is: "Should I be late for work so I can finish my homework?"  or "Can I go another few hours without sleep?"  So, yesterday sleep won - I got 4 whole hours before I went to work, after finishing my paper for another class!  I knew my blog would have to be late, I was ok with that because I was too tired to come up with a subject to write about anyway. 

And I fell into exhausted sleep the moment I got home from work this morning as well.  Six solid hours of blissful, uninterupted sleep. Ahhh... I feel refreshed! Rejuvenated! Ahhh.... NOT!  Still feeling exhausted for some reason.  I feel the weight of all the things yet to be done - the dishes, the laundry, the cleaning, check all four email address, and of course, the homework!  And here I am... Homework wins!!  As I struggled with the attempt at creativity, trying to think of a book or a movie to blog about, I had to laugh.  A teacher once told me years ago to write what I know.  So, I know I am glad I don't have to look up facts about Africa or JFK. I know I'd rather blog than scrub the kitchen floor.  And I know, someday, I will have enough time for both sleep and creativity.  Still not feeling terribly bright or creative, but I would still rather do homework than housework!