HA! Victories. Kismet, friends.
Today we mark the successful (even if sheepish) submission of my draft table of contents to my supervisor (it was ready for 3 weeks now). I received an email today from the Linguistics department asking if I am ok. Goodness me was I embarrassed. The deadline was more “guideline” – id est, notional – but nonetheless… Anyway, I have assured them I am alive, well, and willing to work. And I mean it.
We also mark the submission of my dossier (file) for my application for a visa. It’s sent. I don’t need to think about it. Well, I don’t need to think about doing it. It is done. Acta est fabula. I can only hope the news that returns is good. Imagine – “You should have written your name as “[surname], [name]”, not the other way around. Please fill out the form again.” Touch wood that is not me (although one of my forms has one such infraction on’t…).
There was a celebratory dance in my room to Metro Station’s Shake It. And tomorrow, a cloaked figure hopes to infiltrate the Louvre, and, having imbibed an elegant sufficiency of the trans-epochal beauty, to set off in the quest to finish such with a cup of very proper hot chocolate. The kind that the teaspoon it is furnished with will happily stand in like the mast of a perfectly sunken ship. I want to not be able to think on chocolate for a week after I have drunk it.
I owe my success to my boss, the HR Manager, my landlady, my mother, my uni professors, my friends, and me. Because if the opportunity is given you, it is up to you, and only you, to take it. You can ask for support, but no one will do what only you can. If they do, the success isn’t yours, and arguably the fruits of it aren’t yours to enjoy, either.
Besides that, I’ve been sleeping better, and keeping up the Gàidhlig. It’s become part of my morning routine on the bus, as it’s a bitesized course, made up of flashcards, mini-conversations, and quizzes. A small step feels like a success. You feel happy having completed a module that took you 10 minutes. Maybe that’s why people like Duolingo, not that I know much about it.
More importantly, you can measure what you have learnt. Today I learnt how to say “in school, in the house, in the station etc” and I learnt the names of the meals. I can now tell you that “Chan eil duine sam bith aig an eaglais” means “There is no one at the church”, and “Tha boireannach aig a bracaist” means “The woman is at her breakfast.” I learnt at uni that Gàidhlig doesn’t really have the verb “to have”. You say “There are two sisters at me” if you want to say “I have two sisters” – “Tha dithis pheathraichean agam“, where “agam” is like a contraction of “aig” (at) and “mi” (me). My tutor in Edinburgh was Dr Stuart Dunmore, who has a background in linguistics, and a special interest in Gaelic sociolinguistics. He is a truly fantastic academic and teacher. My class and I were very lucky.
Also, completely random thought, but the literal translation of the Gàidhlig phrase for “I love you” (Tha gaol agam ort) is “There is love at me on you”, which I find beautiful, even if a teensy part of me cries “Prepositions!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”.
Linguistics rant over 🙂 Promise 🙂
The takeaway is, Better late than never, and please celebrate every success. Even if in a small way (I would argue for proportionality, yes). It is part of being kind to yourself, and it encourages you to continue being kind to yourself by the fact that it encourages you to keep scoring your goals. There is no such person as a disheartened mountaineer – They are no longer a mountaineer from the moment they cease climbing. I can see a few pedants out there ready with their slingshots, but you know what I mean. In order to keep going, and going well, you’ve got to celebrate the wins. Else, what is the point of winning?
Aight, I have a bit of a post-exertional headache (I always fall to pieces post-stress, so don’t mind me) that I need to tend to (with water and rest), else tomorrow there shall be no adventures to write on. Besides that, I feel AMAZING. The best I have in a while. I hope you, wherever and whoever you may be, are having a lovely time of day. Don’t hesitate to drop me, or, better, a friend, mentor, relative, a line, if you need encouragement. You’ve got this 🙂
At Least Afloat 