Reverb10: Letting Go

I'm taking inspiration from a 31-day blogging challenge called reverb10, responding to writing prompts that are designed to allow bloggers to reflect on 2010 and to send out reverberations for 2011. You can find out more about it here.

Day 5 – Let Go. What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I've let go of the sense of guilt I got over not posting to my blog so often.

I let go of people who complained about educators, with particularly unrelenting vitriol.

I let go of people who told me that art education only leads students astray and into unnecessary debt.

I let go of people who told me that pursuing an MFA is a complete and total waste of time.

I let go of a number of books via paperbackswap.com. Yes, I gained a few more in exchange, but that's how swaps work, after all.

I let go of the insistence of people who said, “Stay! If you don't come back you'll never know!” I'm satisfied that I've had plenty and that I know well enough for myself.

My car, for its part, let go of a hubcap and  a radiator hose, somewhere along the 210 freeway, on my way to class, a few days after having had seriously $$$$ major work completed by the local dealership. I subsequently let go of my need to always go to the dealership for major work on my Camry.

I let go of the first new pair of running shoes (I was so excited!!) I've gotten in five years because they were really messing up my knees and ankles. Thanks to Run With Us in Pasadena for the help in getting me back into another pair and back to training.

I let go of email subscriptions where people always, always opened first with offers of workshops (free or for a fee).

I let go of grabbing paper napkins at school in favor of bringing a few fabric ones with me.

I let go of the idea that if one is told that they're so sensitive (!) that that's a bad thing and that one should try to be less so.

I let go of one of a pair of earrings that I've worn almost every day for 20 years, down the drain. I haven't yet let go of the sadness and sense of loss.