Reflections on a Drive Home

First off, I was looking at my stats and it looks like I have a ridiculous amount of readers from Russia, which is awesome. I only know one person living in Russia, and since I haven't talked to him in years, I can be pretty certain that he is not the one reading my blog from overseas. So thanks Russia! I feel the love!

I've always thought that I'm a pretty good multi-tasker. I'm the girl that can talk on the phone, eat and put on makeup all while driving to work. I know, I've heard of the dangers of distracted driving. I'm just such an amazing multi-tasker, it's not a problem... Ok, I'm working on cutting back on distracted driving, I promise. But that's not the point of what I'm talking about today. I think my multi-tasking stems from the fact that I can't ever seem to focus specifically on one thing for an extended period of time (yeah, we can make correlations to my love life based around this statement, but that's not where I'm going with this today). My mind seems to race so fast that it needs multiple stimulants to keep me focused. If I'm in a meeting, I'm listening closely and fully comprehend, but I am also making a to do list. When I run at the gym, I have my music on, and I'll also watch the news and read the closed captioning. I can't ever seem to focus on one thing. On my drive home tonight, I was reflecting on my day and my ability to move fluidly from task to task was very apparent. I don't know what your work day looks like, but mine is always changing and unexpected. It is not uncommon for me to get home at the end of the day and completely crash from running around and being mentally exhausted. Let me give you a little information about what I did today to illustrate this.

My morning started with a walk through part of our building to look at our chalk board display about patriotism. I run upstairs to discuss fee regulations with our accountant. Throughout my day, I am an active participant in problem solving situations about being over budget, creating gender-neutral restrooms, developing student organizations, being an advocate for non-christian cultures, city sponsorships of campus programs, the use of glitter at events, developing inclusive holiday programs on campus and more. I worked with 11th grade students to help them develop a student involvement group at their charter school in Denver. I confirmed a show featuring Demetri Martin (super funny guy! Wahoo!), submitted an award recommendation for a coworker, collaborated with a colleague from a nearby college, and created a floor plan for our upcoming Veteran's Day Event. I even got the chance to eat lunch today, which is awesome.

I realize as I'm writing this that it sounds annoying. That's not my intention. I understand that everyone is busy and productive during their work day. There is no way that I'm going to get in to the "who's the busiest" game. I have no desire to debate. You can win, I'm sure your life is much more chaotic than mine. I'm really writing about this because I appreciate that my job is so varied and it really fits with my multi-tasking style. I'm pretty lucky to have the chance to be able to have such differing conversations and activities throughout my day.

Today one of my students posted this status on Facebook:

"It's time to get personal. Do you ever step back, look at your life, and realize that it is really good? Like, real good. Sure, there are setbacks, bumps, and unfortunate happenings, but, in the grand scheme of things, you couldn’t ask for anything..."

I'm impressed by her insight and it gave me a chance to step back and take a look at myself. My drive home reflecting on my day at work let me take a look at my job and realize that I have it really good. That's pretty awesome if you ask me.

Listening to Avett Brothers.