The Sublime and the tragic

I had a very stressful week, what with the women in charge wielding a heavy hammer at my ego and my soul. (Did I mention that my ego feels needy and weak? Like it should be breast-fed?) However, a few events of presto-change-o quickness got me out of my own little world, at least for two days.

1) Someone from my high school, a year older than me, just died of cancer this past week. It wasn't someone I was close with, but someone I knew- a popular boy who was always MVP for soccer and football and whatnot. His is the second young adult cancer death from my high school, and the third or fourth cancer diagnosis of someone under 23 that I've known. Scary.

2) My pianist extraordinaire, Futaba, made it to the finals of a huge major international competition, Concert Artists Guild! This is an amazing opportunity for her, and I'm so excited for her.

3) I found out that my teacher, Carol, was misdiagnosed for her tendonitis, and actually has a lot more than bone spurs growing in her arm. It is highly likely that she will have to undergo invasive surgery, and needless to say, she's pretty damn upset.

Anyone, I realized that even when I'm really stressed, it helps to realize that there's more than just me. Or at least, if I look outside my situation, it will make my plight look much better. (i.e. carol would kill to be able to play viola right now, and would probably weather any emotional storms to do it.) It's when we dwell so much on ourselves that we can only suffer in solitude that we really do internal damage.