Yes. It’s late. I know. On Monday, my partner and I were in a traffic accident. We weren’t at fault. The elderly driver of the other vehicle flew through a stop sign and with no warning and slightly slippery roads, I couldn’t stop us before we T-boned into them. Now, before you worry, physically, the damage seems to be minor, so far. (I used to work for a motor-vehicle attorney so I’m well aware of stories of people who thought they were fine for a week or two before their symptoms really started presenting themselves.) Mentally, however, doesn’t seem quite so good just yet.
We went to see a doctor, and after an examination he told us both to take a couple of weeks off. But I thought, “stuff that”, it’s not like The Voice Magazine is a physically taxing task after all. But I’ve noticed changes. My editing is slower. Figuring out the right punctuation or word-choice seems to be a bit more of a struggle than before. More frustrating, however, is that I can’t seem to keep focus for any significant length of time. I drift. I can’t tell you where, because I’m not sure myself.
AUSU has been very understanding, they told me not to worry about The Voice or any deadlines for it, but I still want to get these stories out there. Especially this week, when we’ve got our own investigation into what an AU degree means in the real world. Our own Brittany Daigle did some first hand digging into what employers really think about a degree from AU in comparison to other universities. The resulting article is our feature presentation this week.
But getting back to my original topic (see? Drifting). One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the elderly man in the vehicle we hit. The collision report told us that he is nearly 80 years old, and I can’t help but remember how he looked as we waited for the fire-trucks so that they could cut the door off of his vehicle to extract him on a stretcher into the ambulance. We were told by police at the scene that his injuries weren’t critical (thank goodness for airbags) but that doesn’t help with the image in my mind. And so I find my thoughts centered around mortality lately, not just of the body, but of the mind. I’m not used to struggling to find a word, and for the first time, the idea that, as we get older losing our mental faculties is a very real possibility, has become very real to me.
And honestly, it’s terrifying.
Which brings me back to education. I’ve read many studies that keeping our mind sharp is very much like any other organ in the body. It needs to be fed a healthy diet, and to be regularly exercised. Fortunately, editing the Voice Magazine is a bit of a brain workout every week, and I find I learn something new each week as well, this week, in keeping with exercising the brain and giving it a healthy diet, you can check out our article on why travel is the best form of education, or advice on how to hide healthy ingredients in our normal foods.
We’ve also got an article from Darjeeling Jones on why we need to escape the rat race, and if your brain really wants a workout, our Fly on the Wall doesn’t disappoint. So, let’s get started. Enjoy the read!
