I'm Feeling That

Beginning of year drop into the roller coaster of academia. Including slight nausea.

The pressure is on, and for some reason, I believe workload has been upped exponentially in about the past three days. Which is very strange--I haven't actually gotten more work, I'm just having more panic attacks. And I guess there's more going on at home, what with College applications and stuff, but not so much that I should be so outta whack. I'm actually pretty sure I'm just getting sick. There's been much tea and vitamin water drinking on my part, but I don't know if that's enough to counter the nasty cold that's been passed around school.

It kind of reminds me of a common theme in Euro and Enviro the past few days. Both classes have discussed population, its trends, its growing and shrinking in the name of balance. The context in Euro was the Bubonic Plague. In Enviro, we learned about how nature "corrects" an exponentially growing population by delivering some sort of 'plague' to the population that's too high. You know, disease or something. It's scary when you think about nature doing such a thing to human beings. I guess those peasants were packed pretty dense back in the 1300s when the Black Death came around.

My point is--is that what nature is trying to do to the students of Souderton Area High School--or mankind in general, perhaps? Think of it. One kid gets strep, or a cold, or a stomach bug, and almost everyone gets it. Sicknesses sweep through our little population so fast--I guess the teachers are more immune than any of us, because they've seen this kind of stuff for years. Is nature indicating that we're packed too close, or that there's simply too many of us? And what will she do in the name of balancing the population of mankind?

Not to worry, though. We humans defy nature. Now back in the 14th century, we didn't have the power to do so, but these days "progress" is practically defined by how well an object works against mother earth. And boy, have we progressed. Cold? Take NyQuil. Infection? Take Zithromax. Cancer? Chemo. But still...you have to wonder. Nature has always 'won' before. Will she win this time, or will we continue to defy her until the end of time?

I guess this is pretty heady stuff. All of my classes are connected--lit, euro, enviro. There are so many common themes just being passed from class to class. They've got me thinking at all times--it's wild. Maybe that's why I'm stressed--is my head just fuller?