Lately I’ve been noticing certain specifics in my life and wondering: If I were in a novel, would this be symbolic? Would this be metaphorical, or hold some kind of connotation other than the literal? Maybe this is just a crazy English major problem, but it’s been on my mind.
One of the biggest areas of my life that I see this concept in is my desk. When my desk is messy, so is my life. Or rather, when my life is messy, so is my desk. I’m guessing that the busy life starts and then the hectic desk area kicks in.
The desk is an area of work for most, including me, except for when I get stressed, when it then becomes a place for me to put everything and anything that I come into contact with. This includes literal things, as well as figurative baggage that I’m dealing with. Earlier this week, my desk became a physical representation for the stress that I was feeling inside.
Let’s take a look:
Pictured here is a general mess, homework that I should probably be doing (but instead I’m watching Once Upon a Time or reading a non-education book of choice), a dirty bowl from breakfast (probably three days ago), a secret santa gift that I still need to give out, a photo of my brothers, and tissues to cry into (because I miss my brothers).
A mess, am I right? This is what my life comes to when it gets to be too much. I take everything out on my desk. Poor desk.
Now let’s take a look at what my desk looks like when I finally am able to get my life together:
You can see that my homework is (pretty much, hopefully) finished, there’s not much of a mess left, I’ve received a “Best Day Ever” mug from my sorority big sister, and the photo of my family is just one week away from being in the present. I’ve gotten my stuff together, for the most part.
There’s still a little bit of clutter that I’ve shoved into various corners and crevices of my workspace, but those are just minor things that I have to deal with. I have a feeling that come next week, when finals begin, my desk is going to start looking a little bit more like the first picture. However, I know that this is all a cycle, and soon my desk will be empty as I’m preparing to travel back home for the holidays.
Life has it’s ups and downs. For some reason, I picture my life as a story being told, and can read into my own symbolism. Maybe if I keep my desk clean even when I’m stressed, the stress won’t come on as strong. I’m not sure if that’s the way it works, but I might try.
Have a great week, and good luck on finals to any students!
Brooke