Philothea
Life in the JVC

Latin and realizations

2002-10-30
Oh my, I had 30 lines of Cicero for my Latin prose competency exam. I was very afraid beforehand, because I know I�m incompetent. Of course, I didn't study enough for it. At the beginning of the year, I thought, oh, it�s too late to start studying now when I should have just known it the first time. Then when October rolled around, I thought I should have at least started in September, and this week I figured it was hopeless. I had so many other things that needed to get done. I am in awe at my own stupidity.

�So which do you prefer, Roman or Greek?� The gentle Serfass asked me today. I thought a minute and said �I prefer Roman, but I love Homer most of all.� I always cry at the end of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

As I�ve grown, I�ve come to several realizations that have made me a much happier person. They are:

-Other people really don�t pay that much attention to me. They aren�t waiting with bated breath to see what I do, and they aren�t focused on the pimple on my forehead or whatever else I�m feeling self-conscious about. Everyone�s far too absorbed in their own lives.

-It�s not important that I have an opinion about everybody, and in fact it�s better to keep an open mind. There�s no need to hold grudges or manufacture enemies.

-It�s just not possible to do all the homework they assign me here.

-I�m not the president. If I don�t have a fully formulated foreign policy plan, that�s okay.

-I�m not my brothers� keeper. They have their own life.

-I�m beautiful, and I like being tall.

-Sitting up straight does wonders for my concentration.

-And my latest realization: I�ve just spent two hours on the internet when I have a three page paper proposal and three classes� homework tomorrow. Perhaps I should start those.

9:13 p.m.
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