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The little things in life

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
I think this goes here (it will help with my essay :D)

Well. I'm writing an essay about the little things in life, like the little escapes that allow you to be taken from reality and let you appreciate your surroundings.

I suppse my question is, with age do you think the distance between comfort and the little things in life has been forced even further apart?
And
are they there to be analysed or just appreciated?
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'll just talk to myself then. :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I dont really understand the question :confused:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Lexi99 wrote: »
    I dont really understand the question :confused:
    same here lox
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ah that could be a problem :D i'll give an example from my essay. This probs wont help when i think about it...

    EXAMPLE:
    I loved the stress-free days of Primary school, when colouring between the lines took up most of my day and getting a misshaped crayon that caused me to go outside the lines was my biggest worry. The canteen food that made my belly rumble and the faint smell of poster paints that filled the air. The multicoloured walls filled with our paintings that no grown up could understand but to us was a masterpiece. Primary school was definitely the ‘good old days’. A completely different world to where I am now; the faint smell of poster paints has been replaced by a sense of responsibility and the misshaped crayons with their soft colours are now the harsh, straight lines of a ball point pen.

    Reflecting on school and looking at my surroundings as I sit here in the common room, it seems to me, that as we get older and become more aware of the outside world the less able we are to find comfort in the little things in life. The familiar smell of high school brings no comfort to me; I have no attachment to the vast amount of white walls and the uniformly placed posters. To me it doesn’t have the same effect as Primary, maybe it is because I am older and the small and – at first glance – insignificant things are not a stable enough part of my life to find the same comfort I had as a child.

    I haven’t chosen to ignore the little things. Occasionally I wake up to the warm summer mornings or take long wintery walks that allow me to see my breath float up and disappear, and I get that feeling of fulfilment that makes me smile as I allow myself to find the comfort that’s buried under the stresses of school and my new complicated outlook on life. The simplicity of life is gone now, and my fleeting feeling of comfort is quickly lost in the vast landscape ahead that could once pluck me out of reality and take me to my own little world.

    Does that explain it? I'm really bad at explaining...and writing :lol:
  • **helen****helen** Deactivated Posts: 9,235 Supreme Poster
    That totally explains it.

    You write really, really well.

    I think your case maybe diluted at points though as there seems to be a few conflicting ideas here and it may be better to explore them all more?

    Here's what I've taken from your musings...

    1. As we get older and our life gets more complicated our ability to zone in on our immediate surroundings becomes weaker.

    2. Contrary to what you explicitly say, what you've written actually implies that your current school surroundings do have as much impact on you as they did when you were a child - but the impact has changed. Before it was positive and full of promise, now it's negative and harsh. If you were to go back to your current school in a couple of years time, chances are you'd be struck by how the smell and feel of the place would hit you. Our ability to take those things in doesn't change in my opinion.

    For example, I went back to a bar I'd forgotten I'd been to after five years. As soon as I walked in, I was totally shocked at what I could suddenly remember.

    3. Your writing tells me that the little things do still have an enormous impact. OK, so they may be occassional, but the influence of those occasional experiences is often more memorable then most of the things we do on a day-to-day basis. Often we appreciate the small things more because of the contrast they provide in our hectic lives. We also start to appreciate the small things more when we have to provide them for ourselves and pay our way in the world.

    :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ahh i see! you write it better than me haha.

    Thanks :)

    I was thinking about carrying on with something like this:

    The scary thing is, I can’t pin point this change, the only way I can describe it is gradually, then suddenly. There was no moment that I can pick out that changed my views on life or a person that has inspired me to think differently. My only explanation is that I have simply grown up and the distance between comfort and the little things in life has been forced even further apart. Or maybe it is just me thinking too much about things that don’t need to be thought about, that don’t need to be analysed. The little things are important, and their comfort is something I want to get back to. Not wanting to write about the harsh things in my life in this essay has made me realise how important the little things are. They are not there to be analysed and picked apart, they are there to let you escape the reality.

    I'm going to write another paragraph based on what you have said, hope you don't mind! :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why don't you put: "Old people are boring"
    That's a good essay, and it's a whole FOUR words.

    Xx
    P.S you can always count on me for a serious and helpfull answer :-)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why don't you put: "Old people are boring"
    That's a good essay, and it's a whole FOUR words.

    Xx
    P.S you can always count on me for a serious and helpfull answer :-)

    As great as that is i cant use it lol 1000 words minimum i'm afraid!

    your answer is...great! and the most serious i have ever had.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ok i cannot do this god damn essay! I'm so stuck and i need another 200 words minimum words. I keep either repeating myself of contradicting myself! So please can someone help before i pop! This is what i have so far, sorry for the length!

    As I sit here in our sixth year common room I’m finding it increasingly hard to concentrate. With the radio playing and people reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ at Primary school I can’t help but join in. I loved the stress-free days of Primary school, when colouring between the lines took up most of my day and getting a misshaped crayon that caused me to go outside the lines was my biggest worry. The canteen food that made my belly rumble and the faint smell of poster paints that filled the air. The multicoloured walls filled with our paintings that no grown up could understand but to us was a masterpiece. Primary school was definitely the ‘good old days’. A completely different world to where I am now; the faint smell of poster paints has been replaced by a sense of responsibility and the misshaped crayons with their soft colours are now the harsh, straight lines of a ball point pen.

    Reflecting on school and looking at my surroundings as I sit here in the common room, it seems to me, that as we get older and become more aware of the outside world the less able we are to find comfort in the little things in life. The familiar smell of high school brings no comfort to me; I have no attachment to the vast amount of white walls and the uniformly placed posters. To me it doesn’t have the same effect as Primary, maybe it is because I am older and the small and – at first glance – insignificant things are not a stable enough part of my life to find the same comfort I had as a child.

    I haven’t chosen to ignore the little things. Occasionally I wake up to the warm summer mornings or take long wintery walks that allow me to see my breath float up and disappear, and I get that feeling of fulfilment that makes me smile as I allow myself to find the comfort that’s buried under the stresses of school and my new complicated outlook on life. From this I can see that the little things obviously still have a large impact. They might not be as occasional as Primary school, but the influence of those occasional experiences is often more memorable than most of the things we do on a day-to-day basis. I appreciate the small things more now because of the much bigger contrast they provide in our hectic lives. But the simplicity of life is gone and my fleeting feeling of comfort is quickly lost in the vast landscape ahead of me that could once pluck me out of reality and take me to my own little world where I could stay as long as I liked. The more memorable, small things that happen now don’t last as long as the constant feeling of Primary that was filled with hope and positivity. My ability to take in these little moments has not changed but the way I experience them has.

    The scary thing is, I can’t pin point this change, the only way I can describe it is gradually, then suddenly. There was no moment that I can pick out that changed my views on life or a person that has inspired me to think differently. My only explanation is that I have simply grown up and the distance between comfort and the little things in life has been forced even further apart. My problem seems to be that I don’t want to analyse the hard times in life but I can’t help but look at the little things and try and understand them. With growing up and realising I have left the simplicity of life and in a way the small appreciations that come with the simplicity, I realise how important they are. My life is filled with things I need to be doing and I don’t get to take the time out I need. My life seems to be filled with all the teenage problems of what to wear to the next party and how to get drunk without getting caught. As much as I love my friends and the weekends that are taken up by parties sometimes I think I need to take a break. I promise myself to go for a thought-consumed walk and have a break from reality but I never do. Something ‘more important’ always comes up and my promise to take a break is quickly forgotten and shoved to the back of my mind.
    :shocking: :shocking:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Perhaps you can talk about that often with age people stop focusing on the NOW and constantly plan the future. Kids are engulfed in the moment and have all the time in the world to admire or enjoy their surroundings. It's harder for grown-ups if you're planning your work day tomorrow, how to pay the bills next month or how to get good enough grades in the final exams. Even things like dinner can be a huge chore to come up with and ohmygod the laundry basket is overflowing and there's breadcrumbs all over the kitchen floor and I've got to do xyz in the evening.

    Appreciating the little things in life is also a state of the mind. I usually work more than 100%, am trying to finish uni with distance learning and have a home to keep as well as a horse in the wintertime. There's always something "important" to do. :rolleyes: I still love the smell of fresh cut grass in the spring, riding my horse after dark in freshly fallen snow, watching my boyfriend fast asleep when I come home worn out after a night shift, or when his kid comes to me for comfort or seeing her experience things for the first time. The opportunities are always there, you just have to be in the right state of mind.
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