DylanAilDon - Changing The Future

[DylanAilDon]

Hi there,

 

So I'll use my first post as an introduction and background: who I am, what's been going on during my hiatus from NF, why I'm back, etc.

 

Who Am I? - A Brief Introduction

 

I'm DylanAilDon, a Canadian university student and sort-of-nerd who dabbles in quite a few interests and hobbies. A jack of all trades, master of none sort of deal.

I'm a bit of a film geek, and my collection ranges from film classics to the creme-de-la-crap of movies, from cult classics to movies most people haven't heard of. Some favorites include the works of Tim Burton, Mel Brooks, Quentin Tarantino, Studio Ghibli, Disney/Pixar, and Cirque du Soleil. TV on the other hand, I don't watch as often. Although I have DVDs for some series, such as Firefly and The Addams Family. I also really enjoy retro animation, and have just recently discovered Doctor Who.

 

I am an avid reader, and I prefer classic (in both classic=older and classic=must-read senses) literature and fantasy fiction. Some of my favorites include the works of Terry Pratchett, H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and Shakespeare, as well as classics such as Les Miserables, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dracula, 1984, and 1001 Nights. As for comics, I mostly dabble only in graphic novels, with the works of Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and Ralph Miller being the ones I've read most. I also read a few webcomics, pretty much just Order of the Stick, Questionable Content and Girl Genius.

 

I'm a casual gamer, and I only own Nintendo Consoles, however that being said a goal of mine is to own most, if not all, games in the Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Kirby, Super Smash Bros and Banjo Kazooie series from SNES till the Wii. I'm well on my way, as I have all the Zelda, Kirby and Donkey Kong games I'm looking for.

 

I also listen to quite a bit of music, from almost every genre available except for gangster rap and some of the heavier metals.

 

As for fitness, this is my fifth year playing Water Polo, and I'm thinking of adding Rugby to my repertoire. Otherwise I've been known to go for runs, swim or do strength training. None at the moment, however...

 

What happened?

 

So, I took a hiatus from NF in order to focus on school. This was due to the fact that I'm in my fifth year of a four-year degree due to having failed a course in the summer ofmy third year that was a major prerequisite for half of my fourth-year courses. Anyways, this was a major specialty practice course, and I wanted to make sure I didn't have too much on my plate.

 

Well it was around Thanksgiving apparently that a noticeable change occurred. I knew there was always an adjustment period for me between departments, having to learn new equipment and procedures, as well as adjusting to the flow in a new area. But apparently things got worse. Soon I found myself struggling, although some of these struggles, such as with confidence, initiative and a poor self-attitude, had been present from the beginning. Then the focus and prioritizing/organizational issues started, and it became difficult for me to function well in that setting. The pressure of assessments/evaluations on procedures made it even more difficult, as I needed a certain number of them to be completed in order to pass, and I had to catch up. That and homework on top of that.

 

Essentially by the end of the semester, I was burnt-out and exhausted. I didn't make meals, usually relying on Subway or pre-cooked meals for lunch, and often ate junk or simple meals for dinner. I had no social life, didn't exercise, didn't clean the apartment, didn't eat well and was in a very poor emotional state. It got to the point where I was told to seek professional help...

 

In the end, I failed the course.

 

So now I literally have to rebuild all of these good habits from the ground up. I'm seeing a psychologist, as well as a counsellor I've been working with for the past few years. I'll also be working with my teachers, a career counsellor and some other professionals in order to sort things out and deal with my issues: some of which

 

The good thing is that I now have a lot more time on my hands; in order to make up for that course, I've had to register for four different courses, two of which are online. I now have two days a week of classes, the other days will mostly be dedicated to getting my act together, doing homework and hopefully getting a job.

 

Wow I lost track of how much I was typing, I'm gonna split this post in half... See you in Part II !

[DylanAilDon]

Welcome to Part II.

 

This will be a shorter post than the last one I promise, and all subsequent log posts should be shorter as well.

 

Why am I here? - What NF can do for me

 

I have some experience with NF, so I am aware of just how much is available for me here.

 

The Six-Weel Challenges are not an option for me at this point for several reasons:

-I am a student, so my priority is school, and I may not be able to achieve my goals as the semester progresses and my workload increases.
-I am at a point where I have to build good habits and a good foundation from the ground up. Adding a Challenge would be too much for me.

-They haven't worked for me in the past. Emphasis on the For Me...

-I don't want to have too many goals at once, espeically now that my focusing and organizational skills are even worse than they were.

 

So I will be using NF for two major reasons: Information/Resources and Accountability.

I need to be held accountable, and I need to keep track of my progress. I will be keeping track of some things via my Board, which will be brought out of retirement and updated. But I think if I do it in more than one place, it'll reinforce these behaviours until they become habit. And it'll force me to stop procrastinating; heck I said I would post this about a week ago...

 

I'll be looking for feedback and advice as well, and will be posting in other parts of the forum in order to determine what my goals will be and how to achieve them realistically. So you'll hear from me in a few places.

 

Anyways, I guess that's it for now. In the near-future expect a post on my goals, and how I plan on achieving them.

 

Thanks for putting up with the wall of text,

 

DylanAilDon