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| I keep wishing it could be that way Because my world would be a wonderland |
Unfortunately, the White Rabbit's refrain has ended up being more like my life story at times--I feel like I am constantly rushing from one thing to the next (usually late), without a moment to "say hello, GOODBYE!" because I just have too much to do. I mean, adulting sucks.
I recently mused on Facebook that I wish I didn't have to work, not because I want to just sit around and do nothing (although, there are definitely times when that's a great idea), but because there's so much that I want to do and learn in my life. Unfortunately, time and money are always constraints--I have to work to make money, but then I don't have time to really pursue the things that excite my curiosity, because I have to prioritize work. I mean, the closest I get is my summer vacation, when I at least have some time to recharge, but what teacher ever really turns off teacher mode? I always ended up spending at least half my summer lesson planning, attending seminars, and just generally keeping an eye out for ideas and resources I could share with my students. It's never REALLY a break, you have to understand.
What would I do, if I had all my time to myself and money were no object? Besides improving upon my current hobbies (powerlifting, knitting, brush lettering, reading, etc.):
- I've always really wanted to learn how to sew my own clothes. Sure, I knew how to use a sewing machine once, but it was such a learning curve for me that I'm not sure when I'd be ready to jump into it again. And as any artist or crafter knows, building up your stash of supplies and materials is important.
- I'm not literate in Vietnamese. In fact, I can barely even speak much of it now, since my chances to use it are few and far between. I want to fully become bi-literate. (Is that a word?)
- And once I've reached some sort of fluency in my home language, I want to learn other languages too. (Can you imagine how exponentially my library would increase once I start getting into foreign-language books???? *hearteyes*)
- I've started getting really into drawing and painting (and general mixed media art) lately, and I want to get better at it. I would love to take classes. I would love to just spend more time making art, no matter how bad it is. I've started keeping an art journal, and the time that I spend sketching and painting just makes me super happy. PS--I've also really gotten into fountain pens, so I've been hand-writing like, basically everything.
- I don't know if I will ever be able to run again, but I'd like to at least get back to walking. And it's not like I can't do that now, but again, other things always seem to take priority, and before I know it, another day has passed without me even touching my treadmill.
- There are so many places in Portland alone, let alone the entire Pacific Northwest, let alone the entire WORLD, that I've never visited. I mean, god, the various places to eat, just by themselves, would take days and days :)
- Speaking of food, I would love to do cooking and baking classes. There's a place called Collective Kitchen near me that has awesome classes (including a knife skills class) that I am looking into, but again... time. And money.
- I would actually like to see my friends! I have a hard enough time as it is, handling person-to-person interaction (because I am horribly awkward), but that's why I need more of it, right?
- I have recently gotten into archery (I've gone shooting a couple times), and I really enjoy it!
- Also, just... blogging more. Not going for months between blog posts :)
So yeah, this is just a short list of whatever I could come up with off the top of my head at the moment, but wouldn't it be great if we could use our time to pursue our passions and push ourselves to our full intellectual, creative, and physical potentials, instead of being stressed out to the max by our jobs and worrying about how we'll survive? Wouldn't it be great not to need an alarm clock in the morning? Wouldn't it be wonderful to wield the full force of our own time and our own choices to try to put some good back into this world instead of having to push that off because we have to handle our own needs first?
What would YOU do?