Lesson 1: Don't give your mother your blog URL.

Lesson 2: If you are going to take sleeping pills before bed, do not set your glass of water down by your computer, because when you wake up in the morning you will think you're sitting on your chair, but you'll miss it, and knock the glass onto your keyboard, and then have to pay $810 on computer repairs.

Lesson 3: Yes, when I sink, I sink low. But it will always get better again with patience and an open mind, and I have yet to encounter a difficulty that I can't get past. Deep breathing, stretching, sleep, and fresh produce will get me through any period of hurting, and seriously... the older I get, the more I learn about life and myself and how to make the two work together. Because I let myself.

I'm breathing very deeply. And it feels pretty good. The North Mississippi All-Stars are helping, too.

Today on the bus ride home from class, I thought a lot about what my dad said about each person's responsibility to himself, to develop his own talents and goals, in order to contribute meaningfully to society, which is each person's overreaching responsibility. I'm beginning to understand that idea from a slightly different angle. Who has inspired you today, and what will you do in return? Longy's mission statement is something like, "training musicians to make a difference in the world." I really like that idea. I just seriously doubted my capabilities to do that with music. Not that I don't love it. Music inspires me beyond what I could articulate. I want to inspire, too, and do something remarkable and extraordinary--to inspire those close to me, but also lots of people out there somewhere who I would never get a chance to meet, if possible. Personal ambition merging with responsibility to society? Why wouldn't you chase after such a dream? Run after it, and maybe other good things in life will fall into place for you. The question I have to ask myself is, am I doing all of this for me? If other things in life slip away, will I still be happy with these decisions that I make?

I love my job. How awesome is that, to be able to say that? Well, my work shoes make my feet hurt, but it's a small sacrifice. There's good people there, and I always enjoy the opportunity to be around a range of people who I otherwise probably wouldn't. I also love being financially self-sufficient. It's so empowering. One of the waiters who is Greek taught me a few simple Greek phrases last night, and I'm making a mental note to start a book exchange with the valet parking guy. Because hey, I'm not in school full-time, so I have time to read. P.S. The zucchini cakes at Kokkari are delicious.