Mahmoudi
I woke up one day last week, and I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed. It was as if the earth had swallowed me up while I was too busy thinking about the future.
The future: a totally uncertain, terribly vague entity which continuously perverts and consumes my thoughts.
Tell me, my friends, do I dig this trench alone?
The individual is constantly forced to assess, reassess, then react - until there's nothing left but the mechanics of life. Day in, day out, it's always the same thing: work at home, work at school, work at work. The mind never rests. There's simply no time.
Why must we endure such hardship? Where could this possibly lead us?
A long time ago, the Germans had a funny little phrase, "Arbiet macht frei." Roughly translated, it means, "Work shall set you free." Despite their futile attempts, they couldn't give the motto much merit. Alas, things have changed, and the Germans aren't allowed to use that phrase anymore.
The French, however, have a more politically acceptable phrase which was also a popular '80s song, "C'est la vie." Directly translated, it means, "That's life."
Sometimes the French think they are so witty. That "C'est la vie" was a one-hit wonder is indeed one of life's greatest mysteries.
That's not life, my friends. That's rubbish.
I don't just mean the song, although there are many such songs from which to choose. Sheryl Crow waxes brilliant with "Everyday is a Winding Road." Steve Winwood advises us all to just "Roll with it, Baby." Howard Jones reassures us sheepishly that "Things Can Only Get Better."
But can they?
I confined myself to my room for several days, simply pondering all of these questions.
I stared at the walls, trying to decipher the cryptic code of the little dots, coming up with nothing. I read through various periodicals, searching for enlightenment to no avail.
In one of my darkest moments of misery, I found myself singing along to the painfully sweet Fleetwood Mac song, "Landslide": "Can the child within my heart rise above?/Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?/Can I handle the seasons of my life?"
Both Stevie Nicks and I had the same answer: "I don't know."
All the stress and distress of life, why do we endure it? What else are we supposed to do? More importantly, how the hell am I supposed to know?
I may be a lot of things, but I am not a member of the Psychic Friends Network.
The 50-ton burden of the cares of the world fell to its destruction from my shoulders, and to my surprise I cracked a smile. After that, even 20 laxatives couldn't have stopped me from laughing.
There you have it.
So go ahead, call me peculiar or call me Amanda. These days I am likely to answer to both.
Mahmoudi, a sophomore French and German major, spends most of her time now antagonizing other people. Send helpful tips to amahmoud@bayou.uh.edu