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Friday, May. 20, 2005 - 11:15 a.m.

Success Student recommendation

The following is floating around in cyberspace.
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Old age, I decided, is a gift. I am now, probably for the first time in my
life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime
despair over my body...but I don't agonize over it for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to
myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide
myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying
that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avantegarde on my
patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too
many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great
freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read until 4 am, and sleep until noon? I
will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 50's & 60ies . I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten - and I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray (fall out), and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no", and mean it. I can say "yes", and mean it. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer the question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like
the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still
here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about
what will be. For the first time in my life, I don't have to have a reason to do
the things I want to do. If I want to play games on the computer all day, lay
on the couch and watch old movies for hours or don't want to go to the beach or
a movie, I have earned that right. I have put in my time doing everything for
others, so now I can be a bit selfish without feeling guilty.

I sometimes feel sorry for the young. They face a far different world than I
knew growing up, where we feared the law, respected the old, the flag, our
country. I never felt the need to use filthy language in order to express
myself. And they too will grow old someday.

I am grateful to have been born when I was.
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The preceding says alot of what I would say. Some more than others. I still have days when I have responsiblities to 800 or others in at least portions of the day, but lots of other days when I can start whenever I want to do so. As early as 4 am or as late as 9 am. Any later than 9 just brings too many guilty feelings even if they are not necessary. For one thing, 9 kitties are waiting for me to come outside with food. They often do not eat all the food, even when I cut back. So I think they just like to see me, even if they are half wild.
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Student Success Day

Department: Library Science_______________________________________
Success Student: _Kdip ___

Please describe this student�s successes: Kdip is one of our many non-traditional students. She is one of the best students I�ve ever had. She is enthusiastic, her work is always excellent quality (graduate level), and a pleasure to have in class. She has a very healthy dose of intellectual curiosity and a desire to continue to learn and be a lifelong learner. The courses that Kdip takes are better because of her. She raises the bar for the whole class and works well in a team environment. Kdip excelled in online courses that not only required learning the subject matter but also mastering how to effectively communicate and collaborate in an online environment. Karin truly embodies the best of the best. She sets high standards for herself and works very hard to reach her goals. It is my great pleasure to nominate Kdip for the Student Success Award.

Student Success Award
Success can mean many different things. With that in mind, we would like you to give some thought to what success means to your department and find a student who best represents that definition, or you can recognize a student whom you feel exemplifies �success� in his or her own way. This can be a student who has overcome adversity to succeed, a student who redefines �success�, a student who has demonstrated outstanding success and achievement academically, or any other definition or example of success you wish to share. When the students are presented with their awards, we will describe and define how each one represents �Success� to create a dynamic definition of Success for the day.
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It was nice of the department head to say such things about me. What is especially pleasing is that the remarks are based solely on our online relationship. She only knows me through my work and my communications with her. I am not judged on my appearance or personality. I like that.

The department head is quite a lady in her own right. She also was a non-traditional student at our local 2 year college. She is from Eastern Europe, and did some college work over there before coming to America from what I have surmised from random class communications. She received a 2 yr degree from bigtown college, and then a 4 yr degree from a biggertown college, then she earned advanced degrees online from a couple of others. She has been very instumental in advancing the local online courses and was placed in the current department over the heads of older staff. I have caught undercurrents of this myself so I know the way has not been a bed of roses for her. In my experience, if I catch wind of this kind of politicking, there is much more, since I am a bit dense in some areas.


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