Understanding limitations

I have a tendency to overreach.

No matter what it is I'm doing - working on a project, exercising, choosing what classes to take, working on art, etc. - I always strive to push myself out of my comfort zone and come up with some crazy awesome product.

You can call me a dreamer if you'd like, but I get things done.

For the most part, this system works out beneficially for me.

But I am, unfortunately (or fortunately?), a romantic.

And not in terms of lovey dovey stories - although I do love a good coffee shop romance novel.

I'm a romantic in the sense that I reach for the atmosphere with my ideas, and I do before I think. Seize the carp and all that (Shout out Mr. Keating, and peace be with Mr. Robin Williams, you brilliant man).

As Mr. Heidt would put it, I often find myself floating up among the stars with nothing to ground me to reality.

That's why I love working with others so much - their unique perspectives reel me back down to earth and make me realize that maybe I can't knock down all the walls in a classroom and install floor-to-ceiling windows (#upsince3 #BREADfam #DesignLab ;P).

And I need that reality check from time-to-time. Maybe a little more often.

So that's what I'm doing right now.

I shot up into the stratosphere as I tried to design a course schedule for the COMMotion independent study, just branching out into a crazy number of different directions and spreading myself a bit too thin.

My mother and Mr. Heidt ended up being the ones to open my eyes and help me get back on track.

I re-evaluated my goals and decisions; putting some of my ideas on the shelf for later and fleshing out new possibilities.

Right now, I'm focusing on language and metaphor, researching the influence of metaphor in communication. I'll be reading Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff and Johnson (analysis journals will be posted weekly starting next week), as well as doing a few studies/experiments with my little sister's 5th grade class as guinea pigs.