My Pledge for the Summer

This time of the year has always been exciting to me. It's the start of the summer, the end of academic year filled with hopes of what I can do during the supposedly more "free" time of the year. Imagination can go wild with places to visit, activities to do, books to read, movies to watch, and of course all the work that have patiently waited for me during academic year. The last few weeks for me has been interesting to say the least (yes, I said "interesting," which may as well be written as %$#*&#$!!! since it almost always needs some explanation). I have been meeting new people, spent a week with my parents in Hawai'i, started intense qualitative data analysis on multicultural classroom data in preparation for APA Convention in August, and started teaching APA internship workshops. I have become keenly aware of how I am using my time during this process. When you are a professor or self-employed, you work 24-7. There isn't any time in which you are not really thinking about work. At the same time, a lot of our so-called "work" time may be spent multi-tasking and not necessarily focusing on one thing. Interestingly enough, what I need to focus on during this summer needs full attention one at a time. Furthermore, I have been coming across number of things (including my friend Toan's blogs) that make me keenly aware of what I can do as I go through my daily life. I've never been someone who was good at time management. I actually function better and produce more when I'm busier because I don't manage my time well. What I want to make sure though, at this time of exciting and crazy summer, is that I am living every day of my life with a purpose.

So here is my pledge for the summer. Starting tomorrow (June 21, 2010), I'm going to blog every day about my purpose and contribution. I'm certainly not guaranteeing any of the entries to be worthy of your busy time, or funny that will make you laugh out loud. Rather, this is more of a challenge for myself in living every day more mindfully and fully.

I feel that what I have experienced (ups and downs, the laughter and the tears) led me to this pledge that I don't want to lose sight of what I am experience this summer. My former gym instructor Patricia Moreno has been doing monthly pledges starting with sugar-free diet and then meditation. I have thoroughly enjoyed her blogs filled with her personal experience with suggestions and encouragements. I'm hoping that my reflecting thoughts and feelings in this forum will allow me to more grounded and fulfilled ;)