ASHLYEE HICKMAN
Living Editor
Today I decided that I am focused. I was supposed to decide this last week but I kept getting distracted but not anymore. No siree, Bob, from now on I have the focus of a precision laser. Just call me Ashlyee “über-focused” Hickman…
I figure this is the right step to a full recovery from the scatter-brain syndrome that I seem to suffer from time to time.
Whether it’s me leaving my purse after a job interview or directing my best friend to take the 101 north as opposed to the 10 east freeway to get to the Staples Center, it is time for me to face the facts.
I have issues.
So many, if not all, of us have so many things going on at the same time— like on Thursdays I have to choose among “The O.C.,” “Grey’s,” oh, and homework. Most students have to balance work, school, and their social lives. But what hinders the attempts to give adequate attention to all of the above are the distractions.
Even as I typed this I felt the insatiable urge to check my Facebook, an event that can take up hours of my life.
And I gave in.
About six times.
Each hour.
I’m even doing it now.
It’s true, I don’t quite have the will power of Mr. Miyagi from “The Karate Kid” when it comes to matters of importance. What’s worse is when I find myself doing the most laborious tasks in lieu of an essay— cleaning (I hate cleaning), exercising (totally not my thing), and flossing. Yes, flossing. And although dental hygiene is important, so is actually doing what it takes to actually receive a degree from a university that costs the same as a Lamborghini.
Sometimes we go through life with our priorities disastrously jumbled. When we look into our internal compass to see where to set out next, we don’t exactly know where to start. Just like Jack and his compass in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”
So I’ve developed something, in order to counter this severe case of scatter-brain syndrome. I call it the “Jack Sparrow Effect.” We all have the idea of the big picture—how we want to live our lives. But instead of pursuing our personal and extremely broad dream, we should narrow it down and figure out the steps it’ll take to get to that point.
Example: Let’s say I know I want to win an Academy Award. All I have to do is rustle up a script, find a camera and go down the street to Ralphs where I would find Brad Pitt at the checkout line. All I’d have to do is pitch the story, perhaps coax him with favorite candy bar, and the rest is history.
More realistically, and out of the scheme of my grandiose delusion of reality, it’s like wanting to get to the HAWC from the CCB. I know I can’t just zap myself there in Star Trek fashion or use a fireplace as a transportation device Harry Potter-style. I have to take the stairs— step, by step (by, step, by step…).
So knowing that I do want to get spectacular grades this semester, means realizing that I do not want to declare a national no homework day and start watching all four seasons of “Scrubs” in one sitting.
It’s easy once you get a hang of it. So, words of the day: “focus” and “prioritize.” We can have our cake and eat it too. We just have to follow our recipe and bake it first.
OK, now that I’m finished, I’m checking my Facebook.
02-01-2007
