Distractions …

There are about fifteen minutes left in my Early British Literature class and Iʼve been “socializing” on Facebook for the last fifty-five minutes. Iʼm pretty sure there is something  else I should be doing at this point, but none of my friends are in this class and I have  things I would like to share with them.

For instance, my wife and I are expecting a baby and I randomly thought it would be a great idea to post our first ultrasound images and some photos of Krista, accentuating her baby-bump with signs stating the number of weeks that have past since our baby began to grow. What can I say, Iʼm a proud Papa.

I have now officially logged out of Facebook and am distracted by these words; I hope they will not be a distraction to you. The class room is gradually emptying as students vacate their desks in short spurts; slowly zipping zippers, fastening and unfastening velcro, snapping snaps, in general, packing bags and stowing laptops…they wait for the instructors back to turn and then…they bolt-tip-toe in their flip flops and canvas sneakers-for the door. I know Iʼve been distracted the entire time, but at least Iʼm staying the entire time. That makes me a better student right?

The clock strikes 1:15pm and she concludes her final remarks regarding knights and chivalry and Geoffrey Chaucer and tales of his pilgrims making their way to Canterbury and an upcoming test and…weʼre off. The aisles quickly become congested and then are gradually cleared. I sit typing away, the sole remainder with the exception of our scholar of British Literature.

She packs her things and I am sure to save my work thus far, put my Macbook to sleep, gently fold the screen down atop the keyboard, grab my gear and dart from my seat in an attempt to avoid any awkward student-teacher interaction. I have always made it a point to shy away from conversations with teachers in the past. So, why start now?

I am unable to distract myself with extracurricular goings-on in my next class because we are not talked at, but spoken to and expected to respond in kind. I canʼt help, but wonder though, are distractions all that bad? They allow our minds to drift beyond any given point in time and think on those things that capture our imagination, our hearts, and our passions.

Isnʼt this a good thing? Is it okay to allow ourselves to be caught up in day-dreams and fleeting thoughts?