The semester has begun, the work load has increased and I find myself reverting to old patterns of behavior. Mainly, I have forgotten to be grateful for all of the gifts that I have. I have failed to notice each phase of the moon and each sunset. I have even lapsed on the writing of this blog. I have skipped the rituals that bring me joy, and have lost the quiet time spent in meditation. My house has become chaotic and the bills are being shoved into a shoe box. Now I do know the drill. This is my second year at this school. I know to expect more work than I can dream of accomplishing. Yet it caught me off guard. I slipped into the stress, ordered more, embellished it, and now sit wondering why life is so hard. The answer lies in my attitude. I have lost the extreme gratitude that I experienced this summer while writing my book and poetry, sipping tea and exploring characters and metaphor. Gratitude is not something I need to squeeze into this schedule. It is like fitting in meals (I do eat while driving, dangerous), it is nourishing, and I finish feeling full and satiated. What I need is to pay attention to savoring and loving my practice of gratitude as much as I do the pint of Ben and Jerry’s in the freezer. If I spent as much time in gratitude as I do with my head in the freezer, my whole outlook on life would change in an instant.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
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