getting creative

Boy has it been a while since I was here…only (a little less than) three weeks left in this semester. Hopefully it all ends with all of our limbs (and minds) in tact.

I decided to get creative and write a little story; enjoy!

A several month old Sudoku puzzle sat on his desk. He sat there staring at the boxes with numbers, trying to make sense of it. He’d always been good at the puzzle- he took great satisfaction in seeing how the patterns worked and figuring it all out.

He had found the puzzle in a bus station a few weeks previously and decided to work on it- even though it was already months old at that point. Things were going smoothly as he started, numbers falling into place, everything making sense…

Then, all of a sudden, it stopped…no matter what possibilities he played in his head, the numbers stopped fitting, The puzzle that he thought he knew, that he thought made sense, had become this incomprehensible jumble that, at this point, frustrated him.

The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. How could something that had made so much sense previously, that seemed so tangible, so achievable, just stop being so?

He had put it aside numerous times- hours, even days. Yet, when he came back to it, he could find no answers, no solace in the puzzle. But, for some reason, he always came back to it- thinking that another look, another attempt would give him the combination he so desperately sought.

Unfortunately, he saw nothing. The frustration turned to apathy. He began to wonder why he even bothered with the puzzle in the first place. A wave of disappointment came over him. What the thought he knew, he didn’t…so what did he know?

So he thought, “One more look, maybe that’s it.” He gazed down at the gray newsprint, but nothing clicked. He drew a breath, picked it up and threw the puzzle away.

“Why frustrate yourself with what you can’t figure out?” he thought to himself as he walked away from the trashcan.

This time, the puzzle held no answer for him.

-MJH

do unto others…

Yet another hectic week here at old DePauw…rehearsals, classwork and…well that’s basically it.

Even as much as I complain about being overcommitted, I certainly love working in music and the theater. It’s so refreshing to get together with a group of people and create something.

That said, sometimes it’s a pain in the ass.

After a rigorous Tommy choreography session, which made me extremely frustrated because 1) it took so long because people weren’t paying attention and 2) I was angry with myself about not being able to get the steps right, I was greeted with multiple tongue-in-cheek comments about my dance skills.

I consider myself fortunate that God blessed me with the ability to sing and act. Unfortunately, I was not blessed with the ability to dance. And even in spite of the fact that I’m  up there actually trying and getting frustrated about it , I still get snide remarks about how people “like” my dancing. It’s a real affirmation; thanks all.

This parade of “compliments” continued on in my rehearsal for DePauwCappella, where I found a section particularly difficult and simply couldn’t hear my note, and I get remarks about how we can’t play notes in rehearsal anymore and that it’s not right. I know it’s not right; if I didn’t I don’t think I’d be in a school for music…

I certainly don’t want to sound like I’m whining, because I’m not; I just wish people would have a little more consideration for the way others take things. That, in fact, is one of the biggest problems I’ve ever seen at DePauw:  so many people lack perspective, and all too willingly get wrapped up in their own affairs to give a crap about anything or anyone else. I think that’s one of the reasons why I joined my fraternity, because the men here do have that much needed perspective and are so considerate that I value my time with them quite highly.

But I digress, mainly because perspective is one of the biggest problems in the world overall; if we had a better understanding of others’ points of view and they of ours, would war or conflict exist? I certainly think not.

This Fool forges on…

-MJH