Time Change
By: Connor Lenahan
For the first time since beginning to write Unbreakable I have found difficulty. Thankfully I made it through more than half of 2014 unscathed, but now I have to figure out how to make this work.
As I type this it is just past 11PM. Obviously this is off from my normal life. I live on the East Coast, therefore my bod think’s it’s around 6PM currently. This is jet lag in a nutshell.
Now, I have known for months that I would have to try and figure out how to keep writing overseas. I realized this wouldn’t be all that hard as London has a plethora of internet connections and topics for me. What I hadn’t though about was how active my family and I would be.
See, when I’m in Boston I will typically get settled into my room for the night around 8PM. Anytime after that I will be able to work on my article for the day. Further, I have plenty of chances to write during the day at work or when I’m just sitting around. It’s actually fairly easy for me to do. This is, of course, thanks to a frighteningly large amount of free time,
That free time is something I do not have here in London. I also do not have a permanent internet connection. I have been known to post an article or two from my phone if I am unable to spend enough time behind my laptop to create an article I am proud of. I do not have such a luxury in London, as I am only connected by my hotel, a handful of shops, and possibly the restaurant where I am eating.
This isn’t particularly bad. After all, I live in Boston and I consider my deadline to be Boston’s midnight. Therefore I have until 5AM London time to make that happen. The problem isn’t meeting my deadline. It’s my body reaching it.
My family and I will go out and explore the city for a considerable amount of time every day. We normally have reservations for lunch and dinner that we attend. This means I’m not behind my laptop until after dinner every night. This means I cannot even begin to start writing until after 10PM. Uh oh.
It’s not that I’m afraid I won’t post. No, I can make sure that happens. I’m just concerned about quality. I never want to put up anything I am not proud of. I take this seriously, at least as serious as you can consider me when I write about ice cream as frequently as I do. I don’t want to attach my name to something that doesn’t meet my standards. Yet my hand is kind of forced here.
For the record, I love the way I spend my vacation with my family. I wouldn’t want that to change. This just means I have to work harder to keep coming up with entertaining pieces for you to read. And really, when has working harder ever been a bad thing?
You know, maybe this time change isn’t all that bad.
Connor Lenahan (@ConnorLenahan) is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in journalism.