The Pool of Tears

So here I am. In the library. Abusing my brain for ten pages on DH Lawrence's Sons and Lovers and coal miner class relationships in early 20th century England. I cannot think properly. I keep getting distracted which completely negates the point of coming to the library at 11:00 in the morning to work on a paper. I find I have nothing to say about class in the work of DH Lawrence. Unfortunately, I have nothing to say about anything else in his works. My brain feels like it's on total shut down mode and I'm just trying to decide if it would make more sense for me to take a break from all the work I'm not doing and grab lunch with my friends in the hopes that a brilliant idea will strike while I'm consuming my disgustingly oily and incredibly fatty egg and cheese sandwich. Welcome to a major in English Literature. The good news: my professor isn't a terribly hard grader so if I produce something I'll be able to make it by in his class. The bad news: I can't seem to produce a single sentence.

Time for total disclosure I suppose. My dad is sick. Really sick. Dying sick. And I'm 6,000 miles away from him and home trying to write a meaningless paper on DH Lawrence. This is so fucked up. I spend most of my nights awake crying until I can't cry anymore instead of doing my homework. It all seems so very pathetic. I feel so completely alone. I need someone to hold me so all the tiny pieces of me don't go flying to a million different places. I don't need to talk to anyone, I just need someone to touch me and to remind me that I am still human.

I feel lost. I don't know how to say to someone, "I don't need to tell you what's wrong, I don't need to tell you anything, I just need you to hold me and to stroke my hair and touch my skin until I don't feel like I'm about to break apart." I guess there's no other way to say it but saying just that. But I don't know if I'm ready to let another person in like that. I should just tell my boyfriend what's wrong, instead of confiding in another person who probably has no interest in what's going so wrong in my life. My dearest and sweetest friend in whom I have confided all of my problems in the last few months is undoubtedly sick of hearing about them. I would be if I were him. He has a life, other friends, and much more to be happy about. I don't know why I insist on bringing him down. It's just that when he holds me I feel completely safe, the way I did when I was a kid and my mother would sing all the bad dreams away at bed time. I just don't know if he'd understand what I need of him if I asked it. Things are becoming too heated, too passionate, too out of bounds with him. Asking what I need of him could push us too far over an edge we're both afraid to plummet off of. Who knew college could be so difficult? I thought growing up would get easier. Apparently it doesn't. It just becomes increasingly more like a bad emo song. Maybe all there is left to do is turn on the Bright Eyes and shut down. Or maybe, just maybe, things get better in the future. Maybe there's a time when I can stop crying and my dad will get better and I'll have a plan for the rest of my life. It's pretty to think so anyway.

-The Dormouse

Down the Rabbit Hole

So, I've been a busy bee since I started this thing. I'm back again. Hi, whoever is out there reading this. I just got back from a trip to Disney World with my mother and my aunt. That was exciting. I've come to the conclusion that every child should go to Disney World at least once in their life. I guess this is not a reasonable thing to wish for. I know, Disney World is expensive. Some families save their entire life for one trip to Disney World. I was a lucky one. My parents were able to take me several times when I was a child and they are still able and willing to take me now that I am an adult. But here are the reasons I think every child should be allowed to experience Disney at least once:

1. The park attendants make you feel special.

When you're at Disney World you're not just an ordinary little girl, you're a princess. Everyone calls you princess. Everyone is there to make your experience the most magical one possible. Disney World is a place where every child is assured to feel important. Even in crowds of thousands of people it is made certain that every child is able to feel like the entire park is revolving around them. That's a nice feeling when you're a kid and you think no one listens to you.

2. Disney can make you forget all your problems.

When you're in Disney World things aren't as bad as they are in the real world. Nothing can be bad when Mickey Mouse is around and everyone is smiling and laughing and having a good time. It's a place where you can go and all your worries melt away. There's no concern for the economy or the future in Disney World, unless it's the concern that Walt Disney's future in Tomorrowland was not wholly accurate. Disney World is able to erase the uncertainties of life and present a person with pure joy.

3. It'll bring your family closer together.

This is the big one. Disney World is something that a child can share with its parents. Everyone is having a good time while they're there and so fond memories can be shared by everyone. For a child, it is a place where parents listen. For a parent, it is a place where their children are completely happy. This shared happiness creates something wonderful between a parent and a child that will stay with both parties as long as they both live.

As a child I went to Disney World several times and each time is one of the happiest moments of my life. Of course I remember the rides and the shows and the candy and the toys. But that's not what's most important. What I remember the most is how happy I was and how happy my family was too. We all got along and we all made it work in Disney World and I guess that's why it's important to me. I think every child should be able to have these fond memories to look back on. I know that someday my children will certainly be given the experiences I was lucky enough to have as a kid in Disney World. But maybe that's just me. I certainly hope not though.

-The Dormouse