Seriously, stop being so serious.

“Don’t take life very seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.”

I don’t know who originally said this, but it’s clever. Everyone should use this piece of advice though. I mean, is it necessary for you to freak out because you broke a plate and now you have seven rather than eight of a set? Is it necessary to get your panties in a bunch over things that won’t matter in the long run, or even immediately? I understand that being caught up in the moment and human emotion sometimes prevents you from being calm and sane. I’ll admit that I’m guilty of not following this advice. But I’ll reflect a few moments later that what I did probably wasn’t the best course of action.

As a college student, I’ve noticed that my peers and I do tend to take things quite seriously at times. Exams, papers, projects, and presentations can be overwhelming. Trust me, as I speak I have two papers (one due at midnight the other due tomorrow both on a novel which I have partly read), online Shakespeare coursework due tonight (Coriolanus, your SparkNotes were more interesting to read), and a geology exam tomorrow evening at 7pm. Oh, and on top of all that, I have class from 9am-2pm and work from 2:30-5:30pm. And I’m sick. Am I sleeping tonight? No. Am I overwhelmed? Most definitely. Have I lashed out at people for tiny things that could have been easily taken care of? Yes. I feel awful, but my instincts are making me roar at my friends when I should just tell them I’m stressed or that I can’t talk to them right now.

Therefore, in conclusion, I think taking one deep breathe, taking one step at a time, and doing what you must at hand with some form of enthusiasm is what’s needed to stay sane. Seriously: people who take life seriously don’t have time to laugh. Laughing is fun. One step at a time. Deep breathes. You can do it. That’s it. So whatever it is that’s bothering you, just calm down and conquer it. It’ll all be fine in the end.

Seriously. Let it go.

“Let it go… religion is personal, God will reach them or he/she won’t. Let your life be a testament to your faith not your words.”

Whoever wrote this started on the right foot, I think. Religion is personal and people shouldn’t try to convert, laugh at, or dishearten others for their convictions. Why do people feel it is okay to get into other people’s personal beliefs and tell them their wrong or that they’re stupid? Seriously, people, is that necessary? Do we need to go back to kindergarten and recap what we were taught?: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

I don’t know if you can see this, but to the left of the quote you can see part of the “I’m laughing at you” that I was referring to in my last post. Obviously others find it annoying that there’s some major disrespect going on. Come on. We’re writing on a public bathroom stall—there are going to be lots of people coming in and out with their ideas, but there’s no reason to mock each other.

This girl is making an excellent point by writing this: “Let your life be a testament to your faith not your words.” Live your life as you think you should to gain whatever form of salvation you believe in, if you believe in a salvation. I mean, I don’t think I can emphasize how much people need to lay off each other on the topic of religion. Maybe because my roommate told me she wished I was Roman Catholic even though I’m happily Orthodox and would never imagine converting to anything else. I even explained to her the 14 years of Catholic education I had. I’m aware of Roman Catholicism beliefs: I don’t make fun of it or jeer at it. I respect what they have and I respect what I have. We’re both Christians, right? As my brother says, we’re rooting for the same team. But those of us that aren’t on the same team, there’s no need for badmouthing. That’s poor sportsmanship.

There is one thing I do not like about this graffiti: God will reach them or he/she won’t. The writer of this is putting an emphasis that God is present and that He is an unidentifiable gender. By saying something along the lines of “God will take care of them” is, first off, omitting the audience. She was directly speaking to someone who was making fun of those who pray and have religion. Oops? Instead of “them” she probably should have written “you.” Also, the he/she our author is speaking about is God. Not only did she not capitalize he or she, she has also made it seem like God can either be a woman or a man. “Our Father” isn’t a coincidence. I’d continue with that thought, however, I don’t have the patience or the time to start a whole new discussion. Lo siento, mis lectores.