Less is more… when trying to pay attention

In conversation, or lecture, when a sort of wording or phrasing is said, it strikes something within me. Almost like a small epiphany. And that, more often than not, is a big reason why I have trouble paying attention. At least in school. But I am a great listener, typically in conversation. I have gotten better now but still find myself in very similar situations quite often. Just recently I was watching a video on YouTube and could not help myself wandering through my thoughts when I heard these words/phrasing in a sentence. In a way, it’s too thought-provoking. Even if the video can be easily understood.

Here’s the thing though, some people who do feel the same way, especially in conversation might almost interrupt the person they’re talking to. Which by the way, can be rude and sadly, I’ve been there myself. But from my past experiences with a certain type of herb that made me feel like I was on a cloud, I caught myself doing that. Now for the most part, I patiently wait. I let the person I’m having a conversation with finish their statement before chiming in. See… people can change. Just take me for example. And if you don’t think that’s enough proof… my answer to that is, “trust me, bro.”

Why A.D.D. became one of the reasons I write

At my current job we have training on the computer that’s anywhere from yearly to every few months just so we have knowledge to do our job to the best of our ability. Essentially, keeping up to date with work information. Recently, one of my supervisors asked why I didn’t finish all my training, and it was now time for me to clock out. Only finishing one of my four training programs. Sadly, I didn’t really have an answer only because I was a little hesitant to say why.

The truth is how do you tell someone in that situation about having A.D.D.? I mean I know quite a few people have it themselves but on top of that, I’m also a slow reader. Always have been. Seriously, how do you tell something like this as an excuse for why it takes longer to complete any similar types of tasks? Which I really don’t like to look at it as an excuse but more of a reasoning. So instead, I just kind of shrugged my shoulders with no words.

The thing is though, it’s who I am and just part of me being me that makes me read slow and have a difficult time paying attention to most things. And the reason I read slow is so I can understand the information and use it to help me and possibly others, which I have many times already. Honestly, with this particular situation I feel like a lot of my fellow colleagues would just skim through so they can get it done and over with. Thus, leading to not fully understanding how to do things properly or maybe even correctly. But good for them if they know what to do afterwards.

Me though, I’m just going to continue taking my time, and not just for this specifically. I already know I have this tendency to get around to things a little late. It took a whole pandemic for me to enjoy the craft of writing and pages after pages later… I started a blog. And this blog here lets me talk to you all, indirectly. But it’s a place where I can share my thoughts, my feelings and especially my experiences. And a bonus is giving you all insight on life and hoping you could take each moment with you that maybe bring value in some ways.

So, I’ll do my best to continue sharing my life with you, whether it be meaningful or playful. Even if it’s not all the time and I know it hasn’t been. But I’ll do what I can to try to be more consistent.

Life After Graduation

“Congratulations class of…”… and there it is. That moment you’ve been waiting for. You and your graduating class celebrating together one last time. Not knowing if you’re actually going to see each other again. When you think about it, it’s pretty wild… but unfortunately sad. The next question to ask yourself is… what now?

Reflecting

Looking back in my past was something I did often. Maybe one too many reminiscing moments. But it wasn’t always a bad thing. I got to appreciate the good times I had when just about everything was so much simpler. Smart phones weren’t around then. Plus, I had almost no responsibilities compared to what I’m dealing with now. I don’t pick my nose as often. Boy, that was something! I constantly picked my nose when I was younger. Never ate the boogers though. Anyway, I kind of grossed myself out a bit.

There were many great things about my time growing up. For instance; most household had one telephone, which was a landline. So, if you were trying to get a hold of someone, you had to actually wait and see who would pick up the phone before having a conversation. It was that or we would go over to the person’s home to see if they wanted to hangout. You could have an interaction with almost every family member of the person you’re trying to see. And thinking back at it now, that is pretty cool. Especially if you’re the type that likes to make conversation.

Speaking for myself, but who knows, maybe many of you would agree, that what I miss the most when I was going to school was… pretty much all of it. Even though my mindset seemed to be elsewhere, because I’ll be honest, I did not care for half of my classes. For the most part, I really wanted to build relationships, have friends, and never ask out most of the girls I was crushing on. Best way to put it, I was easily distracted, which explains why my schoolwork was subpar. Thinking back at it, I’m pretty sure I had A.D.D.

What Now?

However your time was spent during your school years, let’s just hope you made some fond memories. Of course, that will always come with some bad ones. Which is just a part of life. But school isn’t just for education. It’s an experience. Making friends, falling in love, and in those unfortunate times, getting bullied or doing the bullying. Let’s just hope lessons were learned and to those that did the bullying, it stopped. Otherwise, that’s on karma.

Even though I was nowhere near the best student in my class, or the most popular, I did enjoy my time when I was in school. Apart from a lot of mistakes I would change, but who wouldn’t make changes? What happened happened and we have to accept it. Learn and grow from it. But I do appreciate the school I went to for even providing me with an education. And not just an education, but for the classmates and teachers that have come in and out of my life and most importantly, the memories. It’s the memories that define us. How we use it in our everyday lives from what we learned from it.

So, whether you have chosen to continue your education further into college, or to do something else, consider that a new chapter in your journey. There’s so much world out there. Make the most of it!