A stressful time of the year

Letting go all else, cling to the following few truths. Remember that man lives only in the present, in this flashing instant: all the rest of his life is either past and gone, or not yet revealed. This mortal life is a little thing, lived in a little corner of the earth; and little, too, is the longest fame to come-dependant as it is on a succession of fast perishing men who have no knowledge even of their own selves, much less of one long dead and gone.
-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Ah, Marcus A. I used to carry the Meditations in my book bag like a punk in high school. I even wanted to be a Stoic, until I realized Christianity was the way to go, and was much less encouraging of suicide.

I have second-degree apathy and disillusionment, from my friends of longest standing here. I shouldn�t say any more right now, as I�ve already opened my big mouth too much. But since they�re in trouble, I don�t feel like doing anything either. Oh, I also failed my Latin poetry comps by four points. Now I�ll have to take both of them again next semester. But all the Classics professors are so kind and helpful. And if worst comes to worse, I�ll drop down to a minor.

It�s times like these that I wish I were a drinking woman. If I was used to alcohol, I could drink and numb my brain right now. Or if I ever drank coffee, I could have some now and keep myself up for all my work. Or I could, um, release my tensions in other ways. But none of these things are probably good to start during finals week. And as Seneca says, no man is free who is a slave to his body.

So what am I left with? Writing furiously in my journal and spending time with my favorite dead white males. Amy, too. I was so touched that she looked all over campus for me today just because we hadn�t seen each other in a while. It means a lot to me that I have a friend who loves me that much. And sleep, sleep would probably be a good idea. So goodnight.