Paranoia

Today, I had a chat with EZ, and the topic of moles (the skin kind, not the animal), popped up. ~

"The thing is, Google is way too convenient. It makes people paranoid. If people had a mole before, they'd just think, 'It's probably fine. [...] It's just a little spot.' But now Google provides you will all the information possible [on] moles." ~

This set my thoughts a-running. ~ The whole point of the Internet, and thereby, Google, is to provide users with information. ~ Very few people would deny the usefulness of this enterprise. ~ After all, who hasn't performed some Google search or other, which ended up with a harmless and easy gain of knowledge that would never have been possible before the existence of the search engine? ~

But now consider what EZ has mentioned. ~ When is it better, not knowing? Innocence is not only bliss, it is also useful at times. ~ What's the point of worrying yourself sick over some tiny little mole, which turns out not to be dangerous at all? ~ In this case, information seems to be counter-productive, even harmful. ~ It's good to be aware of dangers, but it's not good to over-worry. There's a fine line in between. ~ And as thoughtful, sharp-minded individuals, it's up to us to distinguish fact from fiction, to calm our easily-panicked mothers, and to learn how to use information wisely. ~

The Future

My first post in quite awhile. ~ Summer has finally caught up to me. ~ My fabulous internship being over, I now have three weeks of supposed "relaxation," "fun in the sun" and "me-time." ~ Which is what I'm trying to do. ~

But to be honest, thoughts of the future have begun to invade my mind more and more often recently. ~ University looms like a dark wall ahead, foreboding. Yet beyond that wall lies everything that I've been working towards. ~ I feel like this is it - this is the moment of choice, the moment where I plan out my career and my life. ~ And yet uncertainty overwhelms me every time I realize that I will soon be aflight, a bird who can now fly and must choose where its wings will take it. ~

And I know that I still have a year to go. ~ A year of work, friendship, and exams. ~ But I'm finding it difficult to concentrate on the present and near-future when I'm faced with the dark pit that I feel like I'm headed towards. ~ Maybe this is what soldiers feel like when they get ready for battle and lie waiting for the enemy to approach - anticipation, fear, dread, and a bit of excitement, all mashed into one butterfly sensation in the stomach. ~

And while some who read this post might lament me for bringing up school right in the middle of summer, I know that I'm not the only one to start thinking that far ahead. ~ And that thought comforts me, knowing that I'm not alone, and definitely not the first to have such qualms. ~ If everyone else survived it, then so will I. ~

Brave on. ~ Brave on. ~