Ever since I made my subconscious decision to attend seminary in Israel next year, I have been beset by a strange, fluttering phenomenon called the blurries. In laymen's terms, blurries are the eccentric little shards and pieces that make up the mosaic of an overall worry- the anatomy of a worry, if you will. In their purest clinical condition, they usually consist of isolated trivialities that concern small, seemingly insignificant (though not unreasonable) aspects of the overall fear. For example, if one is anxious about an upcoming exam, the worry can often be broken down into blurries such as, "What if I cannot read the teacher's handwriting?", or "Where will I put my notes during the test?" Even when blurries are subconscious, they contribute greatly to the overall sensation of discomfort and unease and so magnify the general consequences of worry.
My personal list of seminary-related blurries includes:
- Where will I buy my shampoo?
- What if I can't find the right toothpaste?
- Where will I do my dry cleaning?
- What if I can't figure out how to update my blog via email?
- What if I can't get up for classes in the morning?
- And what if the label on my hair iron was serious when it said "Do not use with power adaptor"?
I have yet to put my finger on a practical antidote for the blurries, although I hypothesize (with copious trepidation) that experience may hold the significant answer. This is Doctor M. Agination, signing out and saying "this too shall pass."
4 comments:
My personal blurries regarding seminary are...
What will I do for a whole year with everyone in Israel and you in college?!
I need some company in KGH!
~Goldie
How about:
-What's up with no free Sundays?
-What happens if the iPod charger doesn't work!!!
-What if my brother never bothers to call me for an entire year???
Lol--Didn't get the Doctor's name the first time through. Feeling slow.
As for those blurries, you can buy just about anything American in Israel if you don't mind the price. If you're that particular, just bring your own ?
And there's dry cleaning as well...Israelis gotta live too, y'know ;)
I will add to STX's reassurances: you can buy almost anything from Pantene shampoo to Pringles in Israel and there are certain things that you can definitely live without as well. (I know you'd never think you can last a whole year without Twizzlers, but trust me you can.)
Your year in Israel will hopefully be one of the most inspiring, exciting, incredible times of your life and while the blurries may not be so easy to stamp out, don't let them rain on your parade either.
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