You know those words or social idioms that you somehow never heard of, and you feel naive when you find them out? Someone at my workplace recently talked about “a roast” at a party. I thought they meant a literal roast, like beef brisket or roast beef. Little did I know, my own naiveté would be “roasted” if it was known. I just nodded, smiled, and hoped that my initial response of “That sounds good!” went unnoticed.
Every story is better when it’s personal. That doesn’t mean every story has to be a biography or memoir, but real-life grit can enhance every story. I try to remember this when life doesn’t go as planned. And as a 20-something who loves to plan, this happens a lot. Throughout my week, I step away from unit strategy meetings and emails to attend college classes. The writing classes are great, but the the required classes…. not so much.
My language professor uses German conversational terms in with her lectures. Besonders… es gibt… ganz…I think I am supposed to absorb the meaning of these words through repeated exposure. But I am too busy trying to see around the arms of the freshman kid in front of me who continually yawns and stretches during class. It happens so frequently that it often looks like he is raising his hand for a question. Ich weiß nicht!
I begrudgingly listen to other students talk about sleeping till 9am, when my own day begins at 7am. After a long day of work and classes, my dog (who forgets she is an older gal and wiggles like a puppy) is the first to greet me when I get home. Unlike the cats, who are content to lounge on my late-night homework assignments. I take my cue from them and settle in for a catnap after dinner… before bed. It doesn’t make sense, but slowing down matters. I recognize it is a privilege to have a foot in the ‘American dream’ (if it ever existed) and another in the fast-paced world of our time. It is still a struggle to maintain the starry-eyed idealism of youth and not become jaded.
That’s another interesting word… ‘Jaded.’ Jaded sometimes seems like a slightly less positive word for wise. Perhaps the grit in our stories is different shades of jade. The more grit the better the story.
That’s what’s happenin’ folks. My nickname is ‘Goose’ because I am opinionated, klutzy, and a little bit naive. Welcome to my own personal roast.
Amelia Shugar 