Give a helping hand

People who know me even a little bit, know I’m not much of a night owl. After a lifetime on the ranch a few months of shipping starter cattle in the feedyards I am perfectly happy waking up at Stupid-Dark:30 to get a little extra work done. If I’m staying up until 2, or Heaven forbid pulling an all-nighter, it better be the middle of calving season for 100 head of synchronized heifers. College has a strange way of changing these habits, and it doesn’t exactly make me a happy camper.

To be honest I haven’t been sleeping much over the past few weeks. On the bright side, I’ve been sleeping in until 8 on the weekends! (Major lazy for this guy) Between a couple of projects in class, pending exams, and a practically void bank account, I’ve been seeing the wee hours of the morning more often than I care to, ever. If it weren’t for the treadmill in the apartment clubhouse, I’m pretty sure I would have lost my marbles by now.

Despite all of this discouraging worry and fretting over nothing, I found myself up until 1 the other night helping my roommate practice for his seminar presentation the next day. I hate being critical of people – not really one to be aggressive – but when I’m helping others critique their work or gain a better understanding of something, I feel…. more comfortable doing it. There’s a bit of adrenaline to it when I’m able to help someone out like that. This reminds me of the many times in undergrad when I could help my classmates study and I got to explain all the problems and scenarios related to cattle production. I guess that’s why classes are all the more frustrating when I feel lost.

Events like this just remind me what it’s like to see others “get” something when I’m able to help them through a problem. I need to get back to doing that.

Just a few thoughts. Let’s hope with Spring comes a few more trips to the pasture. I’m getting major cabin fever being in town every day. I don’t know how people do it.