Julia, Week 12 - I Don't Have Time to Make a Creative Title
I intend to keep this blog quite short today. Not because I am lazy...
or because I am still a little sick...
or because I just don't know what to write as we start to leave this "power" theme in the past.
But because, in reality, I feel myself wasting so much time by the minute. I overestimate the amount of time I have until the 10:00PM deadline, yet I underestimate the rate at which this time passes on. I focus too much on the time I waste, or the amount of time I have left to complete a task. When it comes to writing blogs, I spend many hours wondering if my thoughts are even comprehensible to my own audience, trying my best to perfect my craft.
On hot, unproductive summer afternoons, I think that I have all the time in the world to dwell and overthink, completely unaware that the hours I spend doing such bed-rotting activities are getting tossed away. The following chilly evenings, (which are really just times when the sky is pitch black at 5:00PM) are then spent regretting how all of those summer afternoons were spent wondering about the amount of time I had to do something genuinely useful when I easily could've done something at least college-application worthy.
And that is why today I've started to act on what I want to do right away. Time is ticking away, and I refuse to be a victim of time's insidious power any longer.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I am starving and just remembered that I have a big bowl of ramen to eat tonight.
This is completely unrelated to the theme of my blog. I just wanted to include the first photo of ramen I could find before I have dinner.
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ReplyDeleteHi Julia,
ReplyDeleteI thought that your blog was very transparent in its opposition to the normal structure of a formal writing style. I admire the fact that its informality made it more relatable and enjoyable to read. I think the way in which you introduced your approach to power was also entertaining and not boring. You added a creative and more personalized touch to your blog this week and in many ways it worked in your favor to elevate the quality of your work. As countless people struggle with focus and procrastination, you were able to identify how time, actually, holds the greatest power over us all. You emphasized how some days you would feel as if you had "all the time in the world" but in reality you were "completely unaware" of how much time you had actually lost. I thought this was essentially insightful as a part of your text and that it was really the main idea of what you were trying to convey. I agree with you completely, as time doesn't wait for anyone and should never be taken for granted because it is not something we can get back or do-over. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Julia! I enjoyed reading your unconventional, albeit refreshing, blog about, well, the power of overthinking, accompanied with a little bit of procrastination. While reading your blog I enjoyed your usage of ellipsis as I found they conveyed your writing as if you were speaking to me in real life. I also enjoyed how in the beginning of your blog you indent each phrase to another line, enhancing the personal touch your writing piece possesses. I also noticed your engaging, comedic tone seen throughout your writing, first in your title, and in your conclusion where you include an image of a delicious bowl of ramen; I will concede it made me crave a bowl of ramen. I find your comedic relief helps create a strong connection between the reader and your thoughts of overthinking, a real issue I am confident everyone in our blog cohort has experienced. Your informal, yet personal, writing style helped me form connections about overthinking. Specifically, I connected to a statistic I read in The New York Times which finds that most people forget about you a couple months after your death; thus, I find your blog and the article a call to action to stop overthinking about things.
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! I have to admit that I was taken by surprise when I began reading your blog. However, your unorthodox approach to writing it turned out to be a masterpiece with a powerful message. As high school students, I think that we all know the value of time. All the assignments due, their deadlines, and the time management necessary to complete them—these are things that we have on our minds all of the time. As I am typing out this blog comment, I am aware of the fact that it is due by 10 PM. I know that I have multiple assignments to complete for different classes by tomorrow, so I need to budget my time accordingly. Time—an abstract idea that is arguably the most important part of anyone’s life. We have little knowledge of what exactly time is, yet it plays a crucial role every day. Being someone passionate about science, I am reminded of the concept of time in physics. Albert Einstein asserted that time is relative, not absolute. In other words, it depends on the observer. Now, the intended meaning behind that statement is mainly applicable at high speeds or in outer space. Nevertheless, I believe that there is a quotidian experience that also matches this definition. Whenever we want time to pass faster, it seems to move slower; and whenever we want it to pass slowly, it seems to move extremely fast. While this has more to do with psychology, it highlights the immense power that time possesses. Humanity has established its authority over a large part of the world, from controlling when the light goes out to influencing the flow of nature. However, time has evaded our dominance. We have no control over the passage of time. Time travel is simply a theoretical fantasy that attracts our attention, but we are incapable of actually performing it. There may come a day when we assert our power over time, but until then, it remains the supreme authority.
ReplyDeleteHey Julia,
ReplyDeleteI deeply relate to your dilemma of being a "victim of time's insidious power," as I too find myself procrastinating often. Your transparency allowed me to understand that this is a problem many people face, if not everyone, and that time has power over everyone. I understand you sought to complete this blog relatively quickly, but I still want to give a suggestion that I think you would benefit from. I would advice you to start journaling more, I know this a little out-of-the-blue but journaling helped me make my thoughts more comprehensible and understandable to others, and more importantly me; since you seem to have an issue with this too I thought this suggestion would help you out a little. However, in terms of your blog I believe it was very well-written, maybe not the best in terms of pure literacy but your blog conveyed your authentic emotions and thoughts--which, in my opinion, is something good writing includes. Overall, I loved the realness of your blog and the inclusion of expressing your true thoughts and feeling in it.
I really liked the unorthodox approach you took when writing this blog post, from the eye-catching title to the unexpected opening. This was an interesting read, one that—for me—provoked some amount of self-reflection.
ReplyDeleteI relate deeply to "[overestimating] the amount of time I have until the...deadline" and "underestimating the rate at which this time passes on." I have a huge problem with procrastination that I cannot seem to shake for more than a few days at a time, after which I inevitably spiral back.
Similarly, I can understand the feeling of regretting days that I look upon as unproductive. So much of my time is spent doing things so meaningless that I cannot even recall what I was doing during all that time later that same day. Of course, it is also important to recognize that not all your time needs to be spent doing something "college-application worthy." Sometimes, you just need some time to relax and recharge, and you shouldn't consider this to be "time wasted." You can think of it as akin to sleep: sure, you're not doing anything "productive," but it's essential that you spend this time being "unproductive" so that you can live a healthy, happier life, and perform better when you are being "productive."