My OperaNot a metaphor
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 1:43:57 AM
Many have told me that my writing style changed a lot as I came to MIT, and I agree. I also have some explanations.
In Costa Rica, I complained a lot about being busy. I mentioned numerous time in my entries that I was writing them in a sleep-deprived state as the last time I had slept had been 30s hours ago. Now at MIT, "busy" is still the word you're likely to hear when asking how I am. I always have something to do for my projects, some number of psets due (and overdue), some readings to start on and some minor assignment which I'll suddenly remember some hours after it's due. However, how I was busy in Costa Rica is completely different from how I am busy now.
First, I wasn't busy in Costa Rica. I don't mean I lied to you, it's just that I didn't realized that I wasn't. There were internal assignments to be submitted, extended essays to be due, songs to rehearse, and so on, but it was all very manageable. However, I wasn't used to always having things to do, I procrastinated a lot, and I managed time badly. Nevertheless, I did well in the IB. So there, adding these two facts you will get: the IB was not that time consuming. Maybe it was for a procrastinating teenager (those who don't have time are those who don't do anything), but not in itself. Of course you don't just believe anything anyone say to you, so you look for facts; and you can see this through the frequency at which I had a new blog entry, wrote something on VietAbroader, or surfed facebook. You look at how much I spent my time on things that I didn't have to do, and you can deduce how much I had to do.
But MIT is busy and makes the amount of work for the IB seems like a joke. I know this through facts too: now that I manage my days much better, I have an account of what I have to get done on each day and how much time I expect it will take. I know that I'm busy because that amount of time exceeds the amount of time I have in a day. You don't know my daily plans, but you can know it by observing that my blog entries are months apart, I hardly show up on VietAbroader, and my last facebook activity was a while ago.
Of course, all this is not to say: "Hey, you know how I told you I was busy? That was nothing, now I AM really busy!" I guess the take-aways are:
- If you see someone frequently post things on the tube about how busy they are (maybe with a long, comprehensive list of all the things they have to do), well, they're probably not that busy.
And as much as I think that I am busy nowadays, I stopped talking about it and all the work weighing on me. Who cares exactly what I have to do? Besides, being busy is not a competition.
But enough about people seeking for validation from others thinking that they're busy. Back to the point: as I don't have as much time to write, I can't afford to write like I used to anymore. Let's make it clear: I loved and still love creative writing. But it takes time and efforts to enrich an imagery, to beautifully use a metaphor, to think about diction, and -- especially -- to not explicitly make a point but still have people think about it. As much as I like the process, these days are behind me. Now I talk facts and arguments -- simple, concise, and straight to the point. I don't think it's inferior; on the other hand, it's a different kind of art. It's the art of speeches.
This doesn't mean that I'm giving up on creative writing. There are books that I will write, but not now, not before some other to-dos with higher priority on my list. "I see that you'll never write it," you tell me, and I will beg to differ. I have moved a lot. Every time I moved, I gave up on a lot of habits and hobbies (Music? Vovinam? Psychology? Dancing? Drawing? You know the rest); and so when I see one that I will not, I know it. It's just that if I only have four years around a place like Random Hall and its people, locking myself in my room and writing is the worst way to spend time.
In Costa Rica, I complained a lot about being busy. I mentioned numerous time in my entries that I was writing them in a sleep-deprived state as the last time I had slept had been 30s hours ago. Now at MIT, "busy" is still the word you're likely to hear when asking how I am. I always have something to do for my projects, some number of psets due (and overdue), some readings to start on and some minor assignment which I'll suddenly remember some hours after it's due. However, how I was busy in Costa Rica is completely different from how I am busy now.
First, I wasn't busy in Costa Rica. I don't mean I lied to you, it's just that I didn't realized that I wasn't. There were internal assignments to be submitted, extended essays to be due, songs to rehearse, and so on, but it was all very manageable. However, I wasn't used to always having things to do, I procrastinated a lot, and I managed time badly. Nevertheless, I did well in the IB. So there, adding these two facts you will get: the IB was not that time consuming. Maybe it was for a procrastinating teenager (those who don't have time are those who don't do anything), but not in itself. Of course you don't just believe anything anyone say to you, so you look for facts; and you can see this through the frequency at which I had a new blog entry, wrote something on VietAbroader, or surfed facebook. You look at how much I spent my time on things that I didn't have to do, and you can deduce how much I had to do.
But MIT is busy and makes the amount of work for the IB seems like a joke. I know this through facts too: now that I manage my days much better, I have an account of what I have to get done on each day and how much time I expect it will take. I know that I'm busy because that amount of time exceeds the amount of time I have in a day. You don't know my daily plans, but you can know it by observing that my blog entries are months apart, I hardly show up on VietAbroader, and my last facebook activity was a while ago.
Of course, all this is not to say: "Hey, you know how I told you I was busy? That was nothing, now I AM really busy!" I guess the take-aways are:
- If you see someone frequently post things on the tube about how busy they are (maybe with a long, comprehensive list of all the things they have to do), well, they're probably not that busy.
And as much as I think that I am busy nowadays, I stopped talking about it and all the work weighing on me. Who cares exactly what I have to do? Besides, being busy is not a competition.
But enough about people seeking for validation from others thinking that they're busy. Back to the point: as I don't have as much time to write, I can't afford to write like I used to anymore. Let's make it clear: I loved and still love creative writing. But it takes time and efforts to enrich an imagery, to beautifully use a metaphor, to think about diction, and -- especially -- to not explicitly make a point but still have people think about it. As much as I like the process, these days are behind me. Now I talk facts and arguments -- simple, concise, and straight to the point. I don't think it's inferior; on the other hand, it's a different kind of art. It's the art of speeches.
This doesn't mean that I'm giving up on creative writing. There are books that I will write, but not now, not before some other to-dos with higher priority on my list. "I see that you'll never write it," you tell me, and I will beg to differ. I have moved a lot. Every time I moved, I gave up on a lot of habits and hobbies (Music? Vovinam? Psychology? Dancing? Drawing? You know the rest); and so when I see one that I will not, I know it. It's just that if I only have four years around a place like Random Hall and its people, locking myself in my room and writing is the worst way to spend time.
