Moving (on)
Note: I wrote this post a few months ago as I helped my mom move to a new house in Watertown and then moved to my new home in Vermillion (all with a broken collar bone!). I must have saved it and forgotten to post it.. but better late than never, I suppose.
All this moving and adjusting and changing has really got me thinking... and I think I've decided that I'm ok with it all. I was sitting in my TA workshop last week (I get to teach English 101 this year!) and our speaker was talking about introducing essay organization as a metaphor involving moving and packing boxes.. like how similar things go in the same box (support) and each box is labeled (topic sentence) and so on.. God, I love English. Anyway, it got me thinking about how moving itself is like a meta-metaphor (if that makes any sense). Like moving to a new house, or moving away to college, or just changing the environment in which one has grown accustomed to is so much more than just a physical process.
Moving is a lot like moving on... and here's how I've learned to do it.
Instructions for moving (on):
1. Get rid of things you don't need. Keep the things you do. Look through every article of clothing you own, every bottle of nail polish, every picture, christmas card, love letter, every literary analysis scrunched up under your bed. Only keep the good stuff.
2. Wrap up the precious things you love so they don't break. Be careful to cushion them with bubble wrap. This applies to picture frames and what may be left of your heart.
3. Organize and compartmentalize. Find your stuff. Find yourself.
4. Move. It's hard labor and it makes you sweat. It frustrates you when boxes and furniture are cumbersome or awkward to handle. Some boxes are surprisingly light, others surprisingly heavy. Similarly, somethings are easier to move on from than others. But eventually, it must be moved.
5. Leave. Turn off the light. Don't look back.
6. Unpack. Find new places to put the things you love. Rediscover them in a new environment.
7. Find the light switches. It takes a little while and you may have to walk in the dark, but soon your hand will know right where each light switch is. You won't be in the dark for long.
8. Sit back and be glad, because you just moved (on).
All this moving and adjusting and changing has really got me thinking... and I think I've decided that I'm ok with it all. I was sitting in my TA workshop last week (I get to teach English 101 this year!) and our speaker was talking about introducing essay organization as a metaphor involving moving and packing boxes.. like how similar things go in the same box (support) and each box is labeled (topic sentence) and so on.. God, I love English. Anyway, it got me thinking about how moving itself is like a meta-metaphor (if that makes any sense). Like moving to a new house, or moving away to college, or just changing the environment in which one has grown accustomed to is so much more than just a physical process.
Moving is a lot like moving on... and here's how I've learned to do it.
Instructions for moving (on):
1. Get rid of things you don't need. Keep the things you do. Look through every article of clothing you own, every bottle of nail polish, every picture, christmas card, love letter, every literary analysis scrunched up under your bed. Only keep the good stuff.
2. Wrap up the precious things you love so they don't break. Be careful to cushion them with bubble wrap. This applies to picture frames and what may be left of your heart.
3. Organize and compartmentalize. Find your stuff. Find yourself.
4. Move. It's hard labor and it makes you sweat. It frustrates you when boxes and furniture are cumbersome or awkward to handle. Some boxes are surprisingly light, others surprisingly heavy. Similarly, somethings are easier to move on from than others. But eventually, it must be moved.
5. Leave. Turn off the light. Don't look back.
6. Unpack. Find new places to put the things you love. Rediscover them in a new environment.
7. Find the light switches. It takes a little while and you may have to walk in the dark, but soon your hand will know right where each light switch is. You won't be in the dark for long.
8. Sit back and be glad, because you just moved (on).
Comments
Post a Comment
Leave me a message!