I think WAY too much

I've always been frustrated by philosophers. Yes, they come up with some interesting musings, but they think about things so much that the beauty and mystery is sucked completely dry from even the most creative arts. I have a class in which we read about reading: how to read so that we can extract every subliminal message from what should have been a form of entertainment. To further our analytical prowess, we read philosophical documents that delineate what every character and plot should be in every type of story. We discussed this so much that the class eventually wondered if there is any longer such a thing as an original idea since these renowned men of the past insist that only through these guidelines can we hope to create a lasting piece of literature. I think that is highly discouraging and unnecessary, and I do not very much appreciate my creative passion being reduced to a few lines of concrete rules.

But, you know what? For as much as I complain that philosophers are just over-thinkers with too much time on their hands, I am certainly no better. I think WAY too much, and it can sometimes get me into unnecessary trouble. For instance:

Last week, I entered a funk that can be attributed to seasonal depression, hormones, mundane routines, or whatever, and I decided that the safest thing to do was to keep to myself for a while until the funk subsided, but I am not an introvert. Being on my own only made me feel more depressed and lonely. I decided that a visit to my parents' house over the weekend would be my cure, and, in some ways, it was, but then came the aftershock. Once I began feeling better, noticing what a beautiful day it was, or finding the sublime in a simple song on my iPod, I realized that some things hadn't gone back to normal. I was still feeling awkward among my close friends with whom I spend most of my time. Because this strange feeling went unresolved, I became reclusive once again so I could reanalyze what could be happening. I drew my own uneducated conclusions, and I simply accepted them, basing the rest of my actions off of them for the rest of the week.

I am a hypocrite. And I'll tell you why. I have told my friends several times that if they have a problem with someone, it is best to talk it through with that person before the rift between them gets worse as they get more and more annoyed with each other. I'm sure you can all see that I did not take my own advice in this case. I told myself that I would observe how things went for a few days, something I'd basically scolded my friends for doing in the past, and when I was certain that my theory was correct, then I would act. What do you think happened? Things got worse, and I alienated myself even more as I accepted that the friendship might be diminishing.

It was only last night that I truly realized I was doing this, and I was extremely disappointed in myself. I quickly sent a message to my friend asking if there was anything I had done to make things awkward so I could work on it--something I should have done over a week ago, and, of course the response was along the lines of, "You've been so distant and sad lately, and we've been getting really worried about you, but we weren't sure how to help :(."

What an utter fool I am to think that I am so mature that I know everything others are thinking, just like the crime I accuse the philosophers of committing. A whole week of depressed awkwardness was solved with just three Facebook messages and could have been avoided altogether!

So, here's the message for all of you who may be holding your feelings and hesitations about your friends or significant others to yourself: Don't wait more than three days to communicate with people, because you're really hurting both yourself and them, and life, especially the college experience is far too short to waste time on high-school-level drama that we all know better than to submit to.

I have a friend who gave up negative emotions for Lent. I was a bit shocked and skeptical at first, but I've noticed how much happier he is lately. Now that's a philosophy I'll stand by.

Hope you all have a great day! :)