Initially I thought I’d translate in English each article that I write in Greek and vice versa. I’d have two identical blogs, one in each language. It wouldn’t be difficult since I am bilingual and can do this myself. During the process, I discovered that this was not working out.
When an article is finished and posted, I don’t want to dwell on it anymore. It’s like dwelling in the past and I am not there anymore. It’s not the same for translators, since the work they translate is not their own; it’s something new each time, and the challenge to transfer someone else’s information as best they can, keeps them going.
Besides, being bilingual is not only about language. A part of me inside is English and another part of me is Greek. These are two very different people that have to co-exist and agree in order to be able to move together. Making the one act and think like the other, is not something they always enjoy or accept doing.
The system usually “beats you up” when you do not bring the results that you set out to bring, when you don’t follow the rules that you or anyone else set to follow: You decide at fifteen that you want to go to University. You decide at twenty that you want a career or a family. You decide at thirty that you want to settle down with two dogs, three cats and a lovely relationship that you can cuddle up with on rainy nights, for the rest of your days.
How many times have things turned out the way you carefully (or carelessly, it doesn’t matter which) you planned? I used to beat myself up in the past for not following my own guidelines or for “stepping off” my own path. I once read somewhere, “God laughs when people make plans”. In time I came to understand what this wise phrase means.
Well, to cut the long story short, I don’t want to translate the Greek articles, nor do I want to keep one strict line in what I do. I know this does not fit in the system’s way of thinking, its expectations and its ways, but then, that’s part of being dyslexic, part of being my own person and part of accepting my own inner guidance.
For no logical reason, I sometimes want to hesitate and smell the flowers, other times I just feel the need to side track and explore new surroundings. In due time (and I don’t control time) I’ll return, with new knowledge, new experiences, on the road that I have initially carved, changing what needs to be changed, in order to be the new me.
And that is the beauty of living; to experience every side road, to explore new territory, to dare to be different and challenge your limits…are there any?
Keep reading…you never know what (or when) I’ll come up with next.
No comments:
Post a Comment